Three compelling reasons to quit smoking: report

13 February 2009

One, the world has gone to the dogs and quite literally so when researchers found out that one of the best compelling reasons for dog owners who smoke is to give up the habit of exhaling the poisonous carbon dioxide in the air with dogs around, which in turn can create health problems for their beloved dogs. The researchers however were silent on the affects to health of other human beings in the house.

After having beauty salons exclusively for dogs in many parts of the Western world, now a study published this week in Tobacco Control found that dogs' health is of prime concern to smokers as the likes of Sonny and Motu's health could also be affected in the long run if the pet owner is a smoker and concludes that giving up smoking by dog-owning smokers is one of a powerful reason to kick the butt.

According to the study, more than 28 per cent of smoking pet owners said that they would be motivated to quit if they had information about the harmful effects of second-hand smoke on their pets.

The exposure to second-hand smoke has been proved to cause health problems like cancer, allergies, and respiratory problems and cataract and more than 24 per cent of non-smokers said that the information would induce them to ask their cohabiter to go out of the house and smoke.

The researchers now plan to put their theory into action by conducting a follow-up research to find out how many smoking dog owners actually gave up smoking after having been given the information on the ill-effects of second-hand smoke to their pets or to find out if any change has been made in the smoking policies of the house.

If any changes are found, then the researchers would pass on the data and information to veterinarians and other pet-care providers to spread the antismoking campaign with this new information.