Any non smoker who loves a smoker has probably used the “if you loved me you’d quit!” line – but maybe they should try a different tack: pointing out the health implications of second hand smoke on pets might actually get a smoker to think twice about their habit.
According to the article, new research from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit shows that common sense isn’t that common, with “few people” realizing that secondhand smoking is implicated in the incidence of cancers, respiratory problems, skin diseases and other health problems in cats and dogs. The research, however, also suggested that smokers “are more likely to quit the habit for the sake of their pets' health than for their own”. That makes perfect sense – people are often motivated to do things they might not otherwise have done, for the sake of a loved one. It’s encouraging that people would love their pets enough to take the tough step of quitting tobacco.
Unfortunately, experience proves that many smokers are just too addicted to actually do what is best for themselves or their pets – the article actually quotes a woman WITH ASTHMA who continues to smoke while stating that she’d give up if her habit affected dog, or made her condition worse!! Someone obviously needs to learn something about cause and effect!
Sharon Milberger, who conducted the research, is of the opinion that “a nationwide education campaign could encourage more people to make those kinds of changes for their own interests and that of their pets” – a laudable sentiment, and a campaign worth running – if only to prove whether love could beat addiction. Imagine – a drug-free world because people cared about the ones they loved!
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