Smoke Affects your Pets

The American Lung Association of New Hampshire provides some stunning facts on why you should consider your pets when you smoke around them.

DOGS

• Dogs that inhale secondhand smoke are three times more likely to develop lung or nasal cancer than dogs living in smoke-free homes.
• Dogs can experience allergic reactions to secondhand smoke. Common symptoms of this allergic reaction are the scratching, biting, and chewing of their skin. Owners often confuse this reaction with fleas or food allergies.
• Cigarette butts can also be deadly. Two butts, if eaten by a puppy, can cause death in a relatively short period of time.

BIRDS

• Birds can react badly to secondhand smoke and may develop eye problems, as well as other respiratory problems like coughing and wheezing.
• Birds that sit on a smoker’s hand can experience contact dermatitis from the nicotine that remains on the smoker’s hand. This can cause them to pull out their feathers.

CATS

• Cats exposed to secondhand smoke in the home have a higher rate of an oral cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, which may be due to the way cats groom themselves. When cats groom themselves they eat the poisons from secondhand smoke that have settled on their fur.
• Cats exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher rate of feline lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer, than cats not exposed to secondhand smoke.
• Cats can develop respiratory problems, lung inflammation, and asthma as a result of secondhand smoke. There are 4,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke, and 43 are known to cause cancer.

Take Control and Stop Smoking

Take Control And Stop SmokingIt stands to reason that when it comes
to giving up an addiction everyone is different – People respond to different
methods and what is great for you may not work for a friend. However there are
many easy ways to take control and stop your smoking habit.
Fundamentally you must make sure that you are giving up for yourself and
no one else!! Do not do it because some one says you should… It must always be
what you want.
Set a date – A important date to you like a birthday or anniversary, or
simply the first of the month. Use this date as the date you give up smoking for
good.
Write a list for yourself of the reason you want to give up smoking.
Stick this some one you can see it and use it to strength your weakness if you
ever feel you are tempted to start smoking.
Although simply reducing the amount you smoke can work for some people
this is not for everyone, If you feel that this is for you then let some one you
trust look after your cigarettes for you in. In a sense they must ration the
amount you are allowed.
Go Public! Make sure everyone at work, at home and everywhere you
socialize know of your plans to give up! Not only will their support boost your
campaign, you will also be more likely to succeed as you will not want to let
people down!
Lastly work out how much you will save per year.. Use this to motivate
yourself. Think of the new clothes you can buy, or the holiday you can now
afford – You this as your motivation to stay an ex smoker forever!
Planning ahead and making sure you are fully prepared to be a non smoker will
drastically improve your chances of being able to give up. Remember that not
everything that works for you will work for everyone else, so use friends as a
support but not the golden rule! Find the way that works for you and stick to
it, in no time at all you will able to say you are officially a non smoker.