How Vapes Put Your Pets’ Health at Risk
Who says there’s no smoke without fire?
‘Vaping’ is increasingly popular, but the use of e-cigarettes could be harmful to your pet – especially with the advent of disposable vapes, meaning they are often found lying around to be chewed by dogs on walks. This is a double-threat due to the batteries they can also contain.
e-cigarettes can contain nicotine. Nicotine is toxic to pets and may result in salivation, vomiting, diarrhoea, agitation, panting, tachycardia (fast heart rate), dilated pupils, high blood pressure, tremors, seizures and in very severe cases may even be fatal.
Absorption of nicotine is rapid, and can occur through ingestion or across the skin and mucous membranes (like the skin in the nostrils or mouth). Therefore, symptoms can develop quickly (within several minutes) and last for 1-2 hours (in mild cases) or even up to 24 hours (in more severe cases).
The toxic dose in dogs and cats is unknown, but toxicity is suggested at exposures of 1mg/kg (VPIS), with an LD50 (lethal dose in 50% of dogs) of 9-12mg/kg.
e-cigarettes contain varying levels of nicotine, therefore it can be challenging to ascertain how much has been ingested. It is thought that e-cigarettes and their refills contain 16-24mg per cartridge, with concentrations of up to 36mg/ml. If the entire cartridge is ingested, this may result in intestinal blockage, sustained leakage of contents and corrosive injury depending on the type of battery in the e-cigarette. In comparison, a typical cigarette contains 9-30mg of nicotine.
It is important that any exposure is considered potentially toxic, and you should speak to your vet urgently. Remember S.P.E.E.D for any suspected cases of pet poisoning.
What should I do if I think my pet has eaten something it shouldn’t have?
These instances require immediate action from you as a pet owner to minimise the risk of any serious consequences.
Your vet only has a short, limited time frame to try to minimise the absorption of poisons before they can cause harm and so an immediate appointment is essential and potentially life-saving.
Follow the simple steps on this page and always remember the word S.P.E.E.D in the future.
S Stop access to any poison
It may seem obvious but can the pet get hold of any more of the substance (i.e. if it’s in your garden)? If so keep your pet away from anything you suspect as dangerous.
P Phone the vet
This is an emergency and must be dealt with immediately.
E Emergency appointment
You cannot ‘wait and see’ with poisons as many do not affect your pet straight away and some can take several days to show symptoms, all the while doing damage to the inside before you see signs on the outside. Getting your pet seen immediately gives you the best chance to get effective treatment for your pet before you reach a potential point of no return.
E Evidence
Knowing what the potential poison is will really help your Vet make a rapid diagnosis and create the best treatment protocol for a successful recovery. If you have a label of the substance, bring it. If you don’t have a label but have access to the substance then bring a sample to the vet for testing (only if it is safe to do so and you are not putting yourself or anyone else in danger). If you don’t have a label or a sample but you animal has been sick, then bring a sample of this with you (if safe to do so) as the ingredient may be present in the vomit. If you don’t have access to any of these then don’t worry as your pet’s blood can be tested.
D Don’t delay!
You cannot afford to wait, act now!
