Nicotine Poisoning in Pets
Everyone knows the Surgeon General’s warning about cigarette smoking, but what about cigarette eating. Not too many people know, but nicotine poising is a huge concern anywhere that a pet may find cigarettes, cigarette butts, chewing tobacco, or even nicotine gum, patches, or e-cigs. Dogs (mainly puppies), tend to chew things up first and ask questions later. Curiosity isn’t always the best though! The good thing is that tobacco tastes horrible. Think about it…. even chewing tobacco must have flavorings added to make it something worthy of oral enjoyment. Regardless, cigarettes have plenty of nicotine and even a small amount can mean serious illness or even death for a small pet. It is time to take things seriously.
It is important to note that the toxic does for nicotine in pets is 0.5 to 1 mg per pound of pet body weight while the lethal dose is 4 mg per pound of pet body weight. This creates a not-so-smooth translation. For example, a cigarette contains between 9 & 30 mg of nicotine depending on the type of cigarette. Consider that a 20 lb. dog would only need 10 mg of nicotine to become poisoned and a 40 lb. dog would need only 1 cc (less than a quarter teaspoon) of juice from an e-cigarette.
Some good news is that nicotine is not absorbed directly in the acid environment of the stomach. The nicotine must move past the stomach into the small intestine for absorption. One of the first things that nicotine does in the body is stimulate the vomit center of the brain, thus inducing vomiting which may say the patient’s life if there is more cigarette material in the stomach.
You need to pay close attention to the signs of nicotine poisoning. These include:
- Constricted pupils
- Excitement
- Drooling
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Twitching
- High blood pressure
- Racing heart rate
If you feel that your four-legged friend has been in contact with nicotine, call a veterinarian immediately! If the pet survives the first 4 hours, prognosis is felt to be good. Nicotine is inactivated by a healthy liver and its metabolites are excreted in urine. After 16 hours, the nicotine ingested should be good. Do yourself and the dog a favor by keeping these products out of reach.
