This week, March 15-21, 2015, is National Poison Prevention Week. I am using this week’s blog to alert dog owners of a new toxin found in our homes – nicotine. Nicotine has been around a long time, but the new nicotine substitutes, designed to help people stop smoking, are poisoning dogs. A recent article in the press highlights the dangers of nicotine from e-cigarettes.

Sources of Nicotine

If you smoke around your pet, she will develop an increased concentration of nicotine in their blood stream, but the increases will not reach toxic levels. Ingestion of an e-cigarette or the super concentrated nicotine liquid used to refill the e-cigarette can cause serious and even fatal toxicity. Due to their indiscriminate eating behavior, dogs may help themselves to nicotine-containing gum or candies from your bag or backpack. Another source of nicotine toxicity is discarded nicotine patches snatched from the bathroom trash basket. Cats can also develop nicotine toxicity, but are more likely to find a discarded patch inadvertently stuck to their fur after you have removed it from your skin. Cats will ingest the nicotine while trying to remove the sticky patch by grooming.

Signs of Nicotine Toxicity

If your pet ingests one of these nicotine products, she will show signs in less than an hour and possibly in minutes if the dose is high. Common clinical signs include: vomiting, diarrhea, agitation, elevations in heart and respiration rate, depression, tremors, ataxia, weakness, seizures, blue gums, coma, and cardiac arrest. Just one e-cigarette cartridge can make a big dog really sick and can be lethal in a small dog.

Prevent Pet Poisoning

• If your pet ingests nicotine-containing products, go immediately to the nearest animal ER.
• Keep all medications, pet or human, safely away from access to pets.
• Be aware of the potential toxins in your kitchen or yard.
• Always keep the 24 hour pet poison hotline phone numbers posted, along with your other emergency numbers for ready access:
  • ASPCA Animal Poison Control 888-426-4435
  • Pet Poison Helpline 855-764-7661