Pet Owners Warned
Pet owners are being warned that eliquids are highly toxic to pets.
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by Dave Cross
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The Veterinary Poisons Information Service are advising the public that they have seen a growth in the number of pets suffering from poisoning related to electronic cigarette liquids.
In 2016, data shows that dogs are by far the largest patient group, amassing 84% of the calls to the poison service. Cats figure for 15% of poisoning reports. Although only 1% of calls relate to electronic cigarettes, that figure equates to 113 poorly animals and at least the same number of very anxious and worried pet owners. There were no vape-related pet poisonings in 2015.
Gudrun Ravetz, president of the British Veterinary Association pointed out the danger posed by small juice bottles: "E-cigarettes may be harmful if they are ingested by your pet, as e-cigarettes and refills can easily contain sufficient quantities of nicotine to kill a small animal."
In addition to the burden of taking your pet to the vets, consultations involving poison diagnosis do not come cheap – it avoids both pet and purse suffering if sensible precautions are taken to begin with. This has never been more important now that almost all juice bottles are small, plastic 10ml ones. The size makes them ideal as a makeshift toy for an inquisitive pet.
The problem isn’t restricted to the presence of nicotine. Cats are very sensitive to the PG component of juices. It used to be used in cat food until it was linked to Heinz body anaemia. Cats have been reported to react adversely to vape in the home if the liquid wasn’t very high VG.
Although it doesn’t feature on the 2016 survey, vapers have lost pets to liquid. One online forum contains a harrowing account of a puppy that died, after it chewed a juice bottle, in a stickied thread.
Other things to consider are li-ion batteries, which are very toxic if ingested. Loose bits of wire can become painful and hard to find if embedded in a paw. Also, some vapers use magnets to keep loose wire together or intact on a reel. If swallowed, they can pinch parts of the intestines together and cause serious problems for pets.
We recommend:
- Store juice bottles and batteries safely, in sealed containers, away from little hands and pet access.
- If you are dripping, place the bottle on a shelf out of the reach of your pet.
- Make sure all magnets and stray bits of wire are picked up and also stored safely.
- Don’t blow vape into the faces of your pets.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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