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Do you smoke? Need an incentive to quit? Do you have pets?Then that beloved pet just might be the incentive you needto stop.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts havediscovered that pets are affected by second-hand smoke.

Cats living with a smoker are two times more likely to getfeline lymphoma than one that's not. After five years therate increases to three times as likely. When there are twosmokers in the home, the chances of a cat getting felinelymphoma increases to four times as likely and after fiveyears, three times the rate of cats living in smokefreehomes.

Dogs living in a smoking household have a 60 percent risk ofgetting lung cancer.

Long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, are twice aslikely to develop nasal cancer if they live with smokers.

Pets of all sizes and ages are affected. But especiallysmall pets, the very young and the old.

Second-hand smoke contributes to a other pet ills as well.As a smoker exhales, the air is filled with poisonous fumes.

A pets eyes can become irritated due to the smoke's effectson the tiny blood vessels found within the eye.

Smoke can damage the sensitive lungs in a pet.Additionally, the noxious fumes can cause a cold that canlead to more serious, life-threatening conditions.

Smoke inhalation quickly irritates an animal's throatbecause animals have a shorter esophagus than humans.

Just as smoke affects furniture, rugs, curtains, etc. thesmoke also affects a pet's living quarters and gets into thepet's fur and skin. A cats hair continuously traps largequantities of smoke particles just like drapery, furnitureand clothing. The cat sniffs and inhales theseconcentrated particles from his fur while grooming whichleads to lymphoma in the nasal passages and intestines aswell as the chest.

Some pets are allergic to smoke.

Animals have a very acute sense of smell and the odor ofsmoke is very offensive to them.

Nicotine is a highly toxic chemical. Some pets may sufferthe effects of nicotine poisoning when exposed to highconcentrations.

If a pet has respiratory allergies such as asthma, theillness is going to be worsened by constantly breathing thesecond hand smoke.

Respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and acollapsing trachea are the most common possible causes of achronic cough in dogs. The constant irritation eventuallycauses the trachea to lose its round open shape. It beginsto collapse resulting in even more coughing and irritation,and to an untreatable, intolerable condition usually leadingto euthanasia.

So the next time you light up, think of the air that yourbeloved pet is being forced to inhale.

Here is more information on helping you to kick the smokinghabit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/smoking/smokingpets.htm