UNUSUALLY HIGH BLOOD CADMIUM ASSOCIATED WITH CIGARETTE-SMOKING AMONG 3 SUBGROUPS OF THE GENERAL-POPULATION, QUEBEC, CANADA

Blood cadmium levels were measured in 554 persons without any known pr ofessional exposure to this metal. They were grouped in three samples; one entirely of 142 Inuit, one of 212 caucasian city dwellers and one of 200 caucasian rural residents. While blood cadmium levels measured in non-smokers are comparable to those reported in published reports, those of current cigarette smokers were 10-20 times higher than non-s mokers. These blood cadmium values stand in sharp contrast to what has been published so far and make the average smokers of Canadian-made c igarettes medically unfit for employment in jobs associated with poten tial cadmium exposure.