According to a report published in the February online issue of Tobacco Control, though most smokers may sideline their own health issues as a reason for quitting, a motivating force for them to kick the butt is a concern for their pets!

The online surveyed was responded to by nearly 3,300 people residing in southeastern Michigan.

Researchers observed that while twenty-eight percent of smokers who own a pet considered quitting on learning about the harm second-hand smoke can cause to their cats, dogs, and other pets; eleven percent willing to cut out smoking altogether for the sake of their pets.

Lead researcher Sharon Milberger, an epidemiologist at the Henry Ford Health System Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, said that the study was aimed at determining "whether pet owners who learned that smoking is bad for their pet's health would change their behavior," and the answer was "yes" for one in every three smokers who had pets.

Milberger said that the findings of the study were quite "encouraging" - one out of every five pets lives with a smoker, as two out of every three US homes has a pet, considered very much a family member!

Veterinarian Carolynn MacAllister, of the Oklahoma State Cooperative Extension Service, said people are generally more concerned about their family rather than themselves, and they consider "pets to be family members!" (Harkiran Contributed to this report)