Unusually high blood cadmium associated with cigarette smoking among three subgroups of the general population, Quebec, Canada.

Blood cadmium levels were measured in 554 persons without any known professional 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-smokers. These blood cadmium values stand in sharp contrast to what has been published so far and make the average smokers of Canadian-made cigarettes medically unfit for employment in jobs associated with potential cadmium exposure.