Smokers are more
likely to kick the habit to safeguard their pet's health than their
own, US researchers say.
A survey of
3,300 pet owners found 28% of those who smoked would try to quit when
told about the effects of passive smoking on their pets.
Other research
has found exposure to smoke is linked with some cancers and other
health problems in cats and dogs.
Yet few smokers
realise the impact their habit has on their pets, the researchers wrote
in Tobacco Control.
Several studies
have linked smoke exposure with lymphoma in cats and nasal and lung
cancer in dogs, the researchers said.
There have also
been reports of allergic reactions in dogs, eye disease, respiratory
problems and skin problems in birds and oral cancer in cats.
Smoking behaviour
The researchers
from the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Henry
Ford Health System in Detroit set up an online survey to investigate
smoking behaviour in the home and knowledge of the effects of
second-hand smoke on their pets.
One in five
respondents were smokers and more than one in four lived with at least
one smoker.
The average
number of cigarettes smoked was 13.5 a day, with around half of those
smoked in the home.
Among those who
smoked, 28.4% said that knowing that smoking was bad for their pets'
health would spur them to give it up.
It is clear that
people are prepared to give up some of the things they like doing if
they think it is harming others Professor Alan
Maryon-Davis
And 8.7% said
this would prompt them to ask their partners to quit, while around one
in seven said they would tell their partner to smoke outdoors.
Among
non-smokers, more than 16% said they would ask their partner to quit,
and one in four said they would tell their partner to smoke outdoors.
The researchers
said pet owners were a "devoted" bunch and public health campaigns
would do well to focus on the detrimental impact of second-hand tobacco
smoke on pets.
Study leader, Dr
Sharon Milberger, said they were now doing further research to look at
whether people actually quit when given information about the adverse
effects on the health of their pets.
"Two out of
three people in the US have pets and pet owners love their pets so it
could be an interesting way of reaching out to people."
Professor Alan
Maryon-Davis, president of the Faculty of Public Health, said it was an
"interesting idea".
"It is clear
that people are prepared to give up some of the things they like doing
if they think it is harming others.
"The fact that
28% would consider giving up for the sake of their pet, that's
something that might be useful for those preparing advice and and
guidance for people."
Source: BBC
News 10 February 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7874614.stm
