Smokers are motivated to quit the habit to protect their pets from secondhand smoke, a new survey shows.
Researchers led by Sharon M. Milberger, ScD, of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, found that 28.4% of smokers who participated in an online survey said learning that secondhand smoke was bad for their pet's health would motivate them to quit. And 8.7% said knowing the potential adverse health effects of secondhand smoke would spur them to ask their partners to quit.
The results are published in Tobacco Control, a BMJ specialty publication. The researchers write that 3,300 people responded to an online survey for pet owners; 66% were dog owners, 53% kept cats, and 10% had birds. Most of the survey participants were white females from Michigan.
Published evidence is convincing that secondhand smoke is dangerous not only for humans, but for pets, too.
Exposure to tobacco smoke has been associated with certain cancers in dogs and cats, allergies in dogs, and eye and skin diseases and respiratory problems in birds, according to the researchers.
"This new source of motivation could be particularly strong for smokers who, aside from their companion animals, live alone," the researchers suggest.
Source: WebMD.com
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