Can Tobacco Effect Animals That Live With Smokers?

Question
My name is Mary and I am 14 years old. I recently did a project on the effects tobacco use can have on humans and that got me thinking. Can smoking in a house with animals effect the animals the same way it can effect the human?
Thank You
     Mary

Answer
Hi Mary-

You are absolutely correct- second hand tobacco smoke has been proven to have disasterous results on animals that are forced to live in it. It has the same health effects on animals as it does on humans. Worse- animals with very sensitive respritory systems react much worse to smoke then humans do- for instance, a bird forced to live in smoke can die after only a few hours or days, depending on how bad it is.

Many animal rescue groups do not allow their pets to be adopted by smokers unless the smokers agree to smoke outside only.

What a wonderful project for you to focus on! Good luck, and I hope you turn some heads!