Dear Ferret Folks--
 
Smoking does not make people "bad".  It does not make them "bad parents".
Unfortunately, that's usually the message smokers get when they read a
post about second hand smoke, and it hurts their feelings.  What can we
say about smoking and owning ferrets that won't just turn smokers off?
Let's talk about the most common "myth" of second hand smoke, because we
all want to know how to keep our fuzzies safe.  The most common myth of
second hand smoke is that you have to be able to actually see the smoke,
to smell it, for it to pose a health danger.
 
Wrong.
 
A burning cigarette produces two things.  First, the visible particulate
evidence of the combustion of paper wrapper and tobacco.  This visible
evidence, in the form of "smoke", typically rises from the burning ember
in a continuous stream.  However, that burning ember also releases
combustion products in the form of invisible gasses that are every bit
as toxic as the visible "smoke".  Some of those outgassed compounds will
have a detectable odor, and some of them will not.  Thus, you don't have
to see smoke to live in a contaminated environment.  You don't have to
smell smoke to live in a contaminated environment.  You just need to have
smokers in the home.
 
The cigarette companies are well aware of this common mis-perception
that actual smoke and odor must necessarily be present to indicate
environmental contamination.  They are well aware that many smokers feel
uncomfortable about the smoke they produce.  They want to keep it away
from people or animals in the home, often by smoking on, say, the front
porch, or just one room in the home.  They are way ahead of you, here.
They've worked hard to find just the right additives to add to their
product to reduce the amount of visible smoke that each cigarette
produces, WITHOUT REDUCING THE TOXCICITY OF CIGARETTE EMISSIONS.  In
other words, they are just as poison as they ever were, only now people
are lulled into believing that they are somehow safer because it's harder
to smell them in the home hours later.  Because of these additives,
poeple frequently *think* that they are producing less second hand smoke
than they really are because they can't see it, can't smell it.
 
But it's there.  Don't be fooled.
 
We all love our fuzzies.  Please smoke OUTSIDE, if you have to smoke.
Not on a porch that ultimately shares an airflow with your home, but
outside.  Stephanie Bass was trying to make it clear that at her place,
folks smoked *outside*.  Not everybody will agree with me, but I don't
think I'd have a very hard time giving a fuzzie a forever home with a
smoker who only smoked *outside*.  I wouldn't give one to an inside
smoker.  It's not a moral issue for me, but an environmental one.  And
there are obviously not enough loving forever homes to go around, the
shelters are full.  It's a judgement call, and different people will
make a different decision.
 
But here is an eye-opening study on how the cigarette companies have
reduced the visible smoke emissions of cigarettes, and reduced the
lingering odor, as well, with additives in an effort to make people think
that second hand smoke isn't such a threat.  The Massachusetts Department
of Public Health undertook the study.  It is entitled "How Cigarette
Additives are Used to Mask Environmental Smoke." It was such a cynical
thing for the companies to do, especially targeting young mothers who
were concerned that the smoke was bad for their children.  Just make the
smoke...invisible.
 
Nothing beats quitting, but if you can't, please smoke outside, for the
fuzzies sake.  Not on the porch, outside.  Not because you are "bad" or
"irresponsible", but because you are awesome ferret mommies and daddies.
 
Alexandra in MA
http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/9/3/283%20
(Scroll down, there is a lot of space on the first page.)
[Posted in FML issue 5029]