Smokers who stick by a product deemed hazardous to their health now must contend with research showing their dogs may face early death from exposure to second-hand smoke, Psychology Today reported.

Research published as a doctoral thesis by Natalie Hutchinson at the University of Glasgow’s School of Veterinary Medicine reveals biological markers taken from dogs exposed to smoke show signs of premature aging, according to the journal. The study relies in part on markers known as telomeres obtained from tissue from dogs in smoking and non-smoking homes over a 12 month period.
“One of the major findings of this new research is that dogs living with smokers have shorter telomeres, suggesting that at the physiological level these dogs are acting as if they had undergone premature aging,” Psychology Today said in an article authored by Dr Stanley Coren. “It has already been shown that there is a relationship between telomere shortening and lifespan, hence these dogs will likely have shorter lives,” Coren wrote.