Dogs have a sixfold increase in risk of bladder cancer through passive smoking

Purdue University has an interesting article on how cigarette smoke inside the home results in a sixfold increase in the chance of a dog developing specifically bladder cancer. The study worked with Scottish terriers in this test and they say that this particular breed develops bladder cancer at a rate 20 times higher than that of other dog breeds anyway. And when they develop bladder cancer it's a particularly aggressive type. It's due to their genetic make up. It's makes them predisposed to developing bladder cancer.

Scottish terrier 6 times more likely to get bladder cancer through passive smoking. Image: MikeB

And the reason why second-hand cigarette smoke dramatically increases the chances of dogs developing bladder cancer is because the body takes up the chemicals in the cigarette smoke and eliminates them through the urine which leads to cancer of the urinary tract and the bladder is part of the urinary tract.

There has to be a caveat or a warning about the results which they admit in the report namely that not all dogs who were around smokers got cancer and some dogs who are not around cigarette smoke still got cancer. So this is not a hard and fast test but it should be unsurprising to readers that second-hand cigarette smoke can give companion animals cancer just as it does to humans. That's why there are laws now firmly in place and have been for a long time that people can't smoke inside buildings.

This Purdue University cancer test is not earthshattering. It simply reminds us that if you are a smoker and have a dog, you should stop smoking.. Never again. Just stop it. Or if you can't do that then go outside to smoke and then return to protect your dog. And of course the same goes for domestic cats by the way. That's common sense too.

They chose the Scottish terrier because as mentioned they are genetically predisposed to getting cancer and therefore this test is going to be more effective. If second-hand smoke does cause cancer in dogs then the Scottish terrier will throw up a result and expose the problem. Although the use of Scottish terriers begs the question as to whether other dog breeds would develop passive smoking bladder cancer to the same degree.

P.S. Going to a party where there's lots of cigarette smoke in the air and coming back to your home to greet your dog at which point your dog jumps up onto your lap is also going to expose your dog to the possibility of developing cancer through cigarette smoke toxins because those toxins are deposited on your clothes and then transferred to your dog's coat.

-----------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Young people don't want to smoke which is great for the domestic cat

The young people of Britain, today, are 50% as likely to smoke as their parents were at the same age according to figures released recently.

I've mentioned it before because it is something which is not often mentioned; the passive smoking of domestic cats. A lot has been spoken about human passive smoking but we must think of the animals both cats and dogs who in a home occupied by a persistent smoker will be passive smoking themselves most of the time.

Passive smoking is a known risk factor for several types of cancer including throat cancer and lung cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer is classified second-hand smoke as a group 1 carcinogen. This means that it is carcinogenic to humans AND companion animals (I have added the animals into this statement because they must also suffer from this carcinogenic substance in the atmosphere inside the home). 

Full-time indoor cats are particularly vulnerable as they are exposed to these carcinogens long-term. It needs to be added, too, that cigarette smoke can linger on furniture and other surfaces. The smoke particles can settle on furniture and carpets and floors. This is where domestic cat sit, and sleep and snooze. It will get on to their coat and then they will lick the carcinogenic substances off their coat and ingest them when they groom themselves.

In the news today, in The Times, it is reported that young people are already shunning cigarettes in the UK. And this might apply similarly in other countries particularly developed countries. That's why the tobacco manufacturers are targeting developing countries to maintain their businesses. It is shameful.

But in Britain, there will be a ban on young people smoking cigarettes as promised by the UK government.

But at the moment, only 13% of people aged to 16-24 smoke cigarettes. This compares very favourably with 34% of young people of that age who smoked in the mid-1990s. And compared to their grandparents, the smoking rates are less than one third.

Before cancer was linked to smoking, pre-1950s, 60% of men and 42% of women smoked. Since then, the numbers have gradually fallen to 13% of men and 10% of women in 2022.

RELATED: Dangers to cats.

Source: Twitter. Sunak's feed.

The government will set out legislation to bring the rate of smoking by young people to zero. Smoking is still the number one cause of cancer in the UK.

We don't know how many domestic cats and dogs developed illnesses because of passive smoking. Nobody keeps those records. When these companion animals develop an illness, the cause of which cannot be identified, it is called idiopathic.

It is my contention that in many instances these idiopathic illnesses are generated through inhospitable elements in the environment in which they live inside the home one of which is cigarette smoke. Other substances would be cannabis smoke and chemicals used to preserve carpets or fire retardants in furniture. It's these kind of hidden causes of ill-health which I think people need to address more vigorously.

---------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.