Carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide (CO) binds very strongly to the iron atoms in haemoglobin, the principal oxygen-carrying compound in blood. The affinity between CO and haemoglobin is 200 times stronger than the affinity between haemoglobin and oxygen.

Sociological notes

As the availability of other poisons such as cyanide and arsenic was placed under more and more stringent legal restrictions, the carbon monoxide in town gas became the principal method of suicide by poisoning. Later, suicide was often committed by inhaling exhaust fumes of running engines. Air-quality regulations have begun to reduce suicide by this route, as catalytic converters were designed to clean up the exhausts and remove all but a trace of CO.

Related Topics:
Poison - Cyanide - Arsenic - Town gas - Suicide - Exhaust - Catalytic converters

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The nature of CO poisoning can be stressful on mourning relatives:

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• CO kills quickly and without much warning. It is possible for CO to kill multiple family members overnight.
• CO can kill family pets as well.
• One may feel guilt/sadness because the death(s) may have been completely prevented if someone had only set up a carbon monoxide detector earlier.