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Scottish Terriers are at increased risk of cancer due to smoking owners. Photo: Pexels/Sebastian Coman
Not only is smoking harmful to you or your children, dogs can also get cancer from their smoking owners. At least if it’s a Scottish Terrier. This emerges from new research results.
Studies by the KWF have recently shown that smoking is the most common cause of cancer. More than 19,000 cases of cancer per year are caused by smoking. That is 16 percent of the total number of cases.
But it can also cause cancer in dogs, according to a new study just published in the Veterinary Journal. Scottish Terriers who inhale a lot of cigarette smoke appear to be at increased risk of cancer.
Scottish Terriers and Cancer Risk
It has been known for some time that Scottish Terriers are at high risk of bladder cancer. Aggressive types of cancer can develop here. However, little is known about the risk factors for this in dogs, the researchers write. “The aim of this study was therefore to identify environmental and owner characteristics associated with bladder cancer and Scottish Terriers.”
Researcher Deborah Knapp contributed to the study. She says: “Cancer is the result of the combination of what you are born with, your genes and what you are exposed to, your environment,” she tells popular science news site Scientias. “For this study, we studied these dogs for years and looked at the biggest differences between the dogs that developed cancer and the dogs that didn’t.”
Six times more likely to develop bladder cancer
The conclusion? Scottish Terriers whose owners smoked regularly were up to six times more likely to develop bladder cancer than the same dogs without a smoking owner.
The scientists examined 120 Scottish Terriers. Inhaled cigarette smoke eventually ends up in the urine. The scientists often found cotinine, a substance that is also found in tobacco, in the dogs’ urine. This allowed the researchers to prove that the dog had been exposed to cigarette smoke.
Incidentally, cotinine can also get into the urine through smoke from clothing, although the owner does not always have to smoke. It could also be second or third hand smoke. “If someone was at a concert or party where there was smoking, it’s possible that the dog was exposed because those particles get stuck in the owner’s clothing,” Knapp says.
The researchers conclude that the intensity of smoking plays a major role. The longer the owner smokes and the higher the number of cigarettes, the greater the risk of cystitis.
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