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Healthy Androscoggin: Healthy Pet Series Vol I

Dr. Pussums PURE Catnip Shoppe has partnered with

https:/healthyandroscoggin.org/ 

to help bring awareness to the health impacts of second hand smoke to our furry friends. We all love our pets like family so maybe a little extra knowledge and awareness will encourage someone who is ready, to quit. Please share! https://mainequitlink.com/

Making your home smoke-free is one of the most important and loving things you can do for your pets! Secondhand smoke is a known cause of cancer and illness in humans and pets.

Allowing smoking in your home harms your animals because:

  • Pets breathe secondhand smoke;
  • Pets may eat cigarette or cigar butts which contain hundreds of toxins;
  • Pets may drink water that contains cigar or cigarette butts;
  • Pets groom themselves by licking their fur and ingest the poisons that have settled on their fur.

Your pets are impacted by secondhand smoke. The toxins in secondhand smoke cause:

  • Lung and nasal cancer in dogs;
  • Potential death to any animal that ingests even one cigarette butt;
  • Feline lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer in cats;
  • Heart trouble;
  • Breathing problems and asthma-like symptoms;
  • Salivation, diarrhea and vomiting.

If you or someone you know is ready to quit, contact The Maine Tobacco HelpLine at 1-800-2017-1230.  Did you know that most people who smoke want to quit? According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “among all current U.S. adult cigarette smokers, nearly 7 out of every 10 (68.0%) reported in 2015 that they wanted to quit completely.” “Pet owners who smoke reported that information on the danger of pet exposure to secondhand smoke would motivate them to try and quit.” (Truth Initiative infographic) “An estimated 1/5 of pet owners are also smokers” (Truth Initiative infographic)

Resources

American Veterinary Medical Association www.avma.org/

American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation www.no-smoke.org

Truth Initiative www.truthinitiative.org

IDEXX Pet Health Network www.pethealthnetwork.com

Pet Poison Help Line www.petpoisonhelpline.com