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Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odourless, colourless, and non-irritating gas produced by incomplete combustion of organic materials. It is also produced in man during the catabolism of haemoglobin. The normal endogenous pro- duction of carbon monoxide is sufficient to saturate 0 4-0 7% ofthe body's haemoglobin-that is, 0 4-0 7% carboxyhaemoglobinaemia-at rest,' but a national survey in North America found 1-2% carboxyhaemoglobinaemia in urban non- smokers as a result of environmental exposure and 5-6% in smokers (cigarette smoke contains about 4% carbon monoxide).2
Meredith et al. (Sat,) studied this question.