British smokers have been unintentionally harming their pets with their second-hand smoke, new research has revealed.
The survey data of 1,000 smokers has been conducted by MIST to investigate how many British pets are being harmed by second-hand smoke - and whether owners are aware of the dangers.
Tobacco smoke is highly damaging to an animal, and when exposed pets are more at risk of certain types of cancer including lung, nose and mouth cancers.
Even more worryingly, the data discovered that a quarter of smokers are completely unaware of how smoking can harm their pet.
With an estimated four million pets living in smoking households across the UK, the data shows that there are potentially more than one million animals living with second-hand smoke-related illnesses right now.
More specifically, the calculations estimate that there are 642,960 dogs, and 676,800 cats suffering ill health at the hands of their smoking owners.
Reassuringly, 3 in 5 smokers reported that they would give up smoking if they thought it was harming their pet - and with the data suggesting that there’s a good chance it is, it’s clear that cigarette-puffing pet owners need to be made more aware.
Sadly though, 1 in 5 admit that they would refuse to quit, even if they could see that the habit was making their pet ill.
Not only does giving up smoking benefit your pet, but your finances too. 2 in 5 smokers spend more money on cigarettes per month than they do on their pet; giving up would mean more money to spend spoiling those furry friends.
MIST have released the data to encourage smokers to try and kick the habit in 2022 - if not for themselves, but their beloved pets.
Founder and CEO of MIST, Fred Cassman, said: “It’s astounding and upsetting to see the number of animals across the country who are adversely affected by their owners' second-hand smoke, and even more so when you consider it can lead to certain cancers.”
“Judging from the survey data, there is a clear lack of awareness on this issue. We want to share the findings so we can encourage Brits to ditch cigarettes in 2022, and to learn more about the damage tobacco smoke causes not only to ourselves, but to our loyal and beloved pets.”
