Many individuals and health professionals alike believe that vaping far safer and healthier than tobacco smoking[1] . However, it is important to recognize that vaping still carries with it some risks, both for the vaper himself as well as for others around him. Just as you need to take action to protect your children, so too should you work to keep your furry friends safe.
Vaping and Your Pets
Most household pets are naturally curious, which means that bottles of e-juice, mods and cartridges can attract attention if they are left lying around. Following are some tips for how to keep your furry friends safe:
● Always keep extra e-juice out of reach and secured. Considering that most e-juices contain at least a little liquid nicotine, which is a highly toxic poison, it is best to eliminate the chances of anyone ingesting it. The smaller a pet’s body mass, the less liquid nicotine it can tolerate. Even if your e-juices are low in nicotine content, it is prudent to keep them entirely out of reach and completely secured, as in a lockable box. While you are using e-juice, keep it close to hand so that you can monitor your pets and wipe up spills. Dogs seem particularly interested in the aromas produced by e-juice, so it is especially important to be alert when a dog is about.
● Don’t blow vaping smoke into your pet’s face. While studies have indicated that vaping doesn’t introduce detectable amounts of dangerous chemicals into the air[2] , this could partially be due to the fact that they are hard to detect as separate from chemicals normally present in the air. So while it doesn’t appear that second-hand vaping smoke is harmful, it’s just prudent to not blow it into your pet’s face.
● Vape away from your cat’s food and water bowls. Cats have a particular sensitivity to PG, wherein exposure to large amounts of PG can cause the hemoglobin in their red blood cells to lose their natural structure. While your cat should never be able to ingest enough PG to actually create a problem, it is best to be extra-safe and refrain from vaping near their food and water bowls.
It could be argued that anything your pet encounters has the potential to cause them harm, but the truth is that vaping poses far less risks than tobacco smoking, especially if you follow the above tips.
[1] http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-american-heart-association-says-vaping-is-safer-than-smoking [2] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463914000972