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Secondhand Smoke and Pets

There’s a lot of evidence out there that secondhand smoke is bad for you. It can cause issues with fertility, your heart, your lungs, and more. But it’s not just people who are in danger — secondhand smoke is also bad for your pets. When you inhale secondhand smoke, you’re getting all the bad stuff that’s in cigarettes… without the benefit of the cigarette’s filter. The same goes for your pets! Their lungs are in danger from the same stuff, for the same reason. But there’s a secondary danger with pets and secondhand smoke. Many animals groom themselves — and … Continue reading →

Should It Be Illegal For Parents To Smoke At Home If They Have A Baby?

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A poll in the current issue of Parenting asked the question, “Should it be illegal for parents to smoke at home if they have a baby?” Of the over 1,500 respondents 67% answered “yes”. Tyler’s father is a heavy smoker and from day one I forbid him to smoke around Tyler. I should add “in my presence” because of course I can’t dictate what he does when I’m not around. Once Tyler learned to talk though, he also learned to snitch on his father. I would think that a parent would, on their own, choose not to smoke around their … Continue reading →

How Close Are We To A Smoke-Free Workplace?

More and more places are banning smoking in public places. Twenty-eight states and territories in the United States have some sort of smoking ban in effect, but a recent report from the American Lung Association says that most states just aren’t spending enough money on smoking prevention and cessation programs. The American Lung Association’s “State of Tobacco Control Report Card” was released at the beginning of January. The report agrees that yes — banning smoking, putting high taxes on cigarettes, and offering tobacco prevention programs does work. However, they feel that the political will to make it all happen is … Continue reading →

When Your Teen Wants To Smoke

Too many teens are tempted to try smoking for various reasons. Maybe they want to fit in with the rest of the smokers. Maybe they want to look older. Maybe they like the thrill of doing something they shouldn’t. If you want to guide your teen away from smoking, the following tips can be useful: Be open and honest about the dangers of smoking. There are plenty of places to find information about what smoking does to your body. Start here. Start talking to your children about smoking at a very young age. You don’t have to make it scary, … Continue reading →

Good and Bad News About Your Baby’s Ear Infection

When my daughter came down with her first ear infection as a baby she was in a tremendous amount of pain. Back then I did what most first-time moms would do, I high tailed it to the pediatrician and expected the doctor to help alleviate my baby’s discomfort and help heal her infection. However, instead of leaving the ped’s office with a handful of prescription antibiotics and a list of tried and true pain relieving techniques, all I went home with was a super cranky baby. My daughter’s doctor has a wait-and-see policy to avoid over-prescribing antibiotics to their young … Continue reading →

Smoking Ban Reduces Heart Attacks

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control took a look at the relationship between public smoking bans and heart attack rates — and found some encouraging news. On July 1, 2003, Pueblo, Colorado banned smoking in workplaces. Over the three years following the ban, the rate of people hospitalized for heart attacks dropped more than forty percent. Pretty amazing, huh? Areas around Pueblo that had no such smoking ban saw little change in their heart attack rates. This leads CDC researchers to believe that the ban was directly responsible for the change. The bad news? Secondhand smoke may be a bigger … Continue reading →

Do Dogs Catch Colds?

Up until the last week or so, I could say that I’ve never really heard a dog cough before. But in the last few days, Lally’s been making a weird noise that is somewhere between a human cough and the sound she makes before she barfs. Aside from the cough, she seems fine… so it got me wondering: do dogs catch colds? Colds — like humans have — aren’t transmittable from humans to pets. So what could be causing Lally’s cough? Kennel cough comes with a high, dry cough — the dog seems to feel fine otherwise. In most adult … Continue reading →