Secondary smoke a danger to pets

jkoch

By John Koch, DVM

Question: My father is a heavy smoker. I have noticed that Max, my Pekinese, always seems to wheeze and cough for several days after he leaves. I have never thought much about this before because it has never been bad. The past few months, Dad has been spending more time with us and Max's cough seems to be getting worse. Is it possible secondary smoke could be causing the problem?

Answer: Cigarette smoke could definitely be causing the problem. Pets react to cigarette smoke in the same way people do. Some people and pets initially show minimal symptoms from smoke. Other pets and people cannot tolerate any smoke at all. Even if your pet shows no symptoms, you can rest assured his respiratory system is being affected.

Smoke is an irritant in the same way dust, gas, pollutants and infectious agents are. Exposure to these irritants will cause the throat, windpipe and bronchioles to become inflamed. Such inflammations produce excessive respiratory secretions, which in turn causes wheezing and coughing.

In time, more serious consequences of being around smoke such as emphysema and lung cancer may result. You don't have to be the one doing the smoking to be affected. All you have to do is be near the smoke. Secondary smoke is just as dangerous for pets as it is for people.

Dr. Koch is a Cape Girardeau-area veterinarian.