Kickin' Butts for Fido!

People unwilling to quit smoking to improve their own health may consider giving up cigarettes to spare their pets the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, U.S. researchers have reported in the journal "Tobacco Control".

Twenty-eight percent of pet owners who smoke said they would try to quit based on knowledge that secondhand smoke could harm their dogs, cats and other pets. Another 11 percent said they would think about quitting.

Just as secondhand smoke can harm people, studies indicate it can raise a pet's risk of lung cancer and other forms of cancer, allergies, eye and skin diseases and respiratory problems, the researchers said.

Credit: Reuters