Pets may be a new motivator for people to kick the habit, as a study now shows that more than a quarter of all pet owners who smoke would try to quit if they knew smoking harmed their cat, bird or dog, according to an  article  on  www.LiveScience.com .

In all, 3,293 adults responded to the online survey sponsored by  Pet Supplies Plus ,  a national pet product retail chain, as well as the  Michigan Humane Society  and a grant from the  Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute . About 20% were smokers and more than one in four lived with at least one smoker.

Some 28% said that knowing that smoking was bad for their pets' health would spur them to give it up. And almost one in 10 (8.7%) said this would prompt them to ask their partners to quit, while around one in seven (14%) said they would tell their partner to smoke outdoors.

These figures were even higher among non-smokers, more than 16% of whom said they would ask their partner to quit, while 24% said they would tell their partner to smoke outdoors.