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• Smoking ban could help pets get healthier 

"People complain about the ban, but I like it," he said. "I was smoking a pack at work alone. Now I'm smoking less." And, he said, he doesn't make up for the restriction at work by smoking more at home.

So the air clears not only in bars but also in the homes where pets live.

The consequences can be significant. A study conducted about seven years ago showed that cats living with smokers are two to four times more at risk for intestinal lymphoma, said Kristi Ellis, a veterinarian at the Oregon Humane Society. This type of cancer usually kills the cat within one year of diagnosis. The reason cats end up with cancer in their bowels, not their lungs, is that smoke particles settle on their fur and are ingested when cats groom, Ellis said.

This, however, is a worst-case scenario, and some say secondhand smoke hasn't been proved to directly cause cancer in cats.

"It's important to note that there's no absolute direct link between smoking and cancer in pets," said Nancy Zimmermann, director of medical support at Banfield, the Pet Hospital, one of the world's largest veterinary practices.

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