A Review by Fiona McMillan
This research from the American Journal of Epidemiology entitled “Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Risk of Malignant Lymphoma in Pet Cats” says that “These findings suggest that passive smoking may increase the risk of malignant lymphoma in cats and that further study of this relation in humans is warranted”. Further studies in humans show that passive smoking is causing cancer and heart disease in non-smokers and so it is clear that passive smoking is a danger to the health of pets and I feel pets should not be homed with owners who smoke.
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/156/3/268
BBC News “Passive smoking puts pets at risk” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2165722.stm says that Dr Anthony Moore and colleagues at Tufts University in Massachusetts studied 180 cats and “they found that, adjusting for age and other factors, cats exposed to second-hand smoke were twice as likely to develop the disease” i.e. Feline lymphoma.
Paper entitled “Environmental tobacco smoke and canine urinary cotinine level” produced by the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts found that dogs living with smokers had cotinine which is a component of nicotine in their urine and says “Findings from our study suggest that household smoking levels as assessed by questionnaire are significantly associated with canine cotinine levels”.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2297465
Science Daily News “Secondhand Smoke is a Health Threat to Pets” and this paper says that one of the reasons second-hand smoke is a health threat to pets is because the lick their fur and ingest the carcinogens and that this is giving cats mouth cancer.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070831123420.htm
FoxNews – “Research: Secondhand Smoke May Cause Cancer in Household Pets” which says that Dr. Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University said “second hand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs as well as lung cancer in birds”.
Letter published in the Veterinary Times dated 11.6.2007 written by Peter Culpin MRCVS headed “Second-hand smoke can affect domestic animals” in which he says in talking about a dog he had seen that had multiple dense lesions consistent with a diagnosis of lung cancer “I have no doubt that this was, indeed, a case of second-hand smoking related disease.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295767.00.html
National Research Council, Environmental Working Group paper entitled “High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats and Dogs” found that dogs had 35 chemicals, including 11 carcinogens and cats had 46 chemicals including 9 carcinogens. Pet beds, pet food and the containers pet food were in were found to be causing illness such as cancer in pets. http://www.ewg.org/reports/pets
FOR AN IMPORTANT REVIEW DOCUMENTING PETS” EXPOSURE TO OTHER HARMFUL CHEMICALS, SEE
Polluted Pets
High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs
Published April 17, 2008
Published on Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org)