Toxic metals and lung health: silent poisons?
Lady Astor: ‘Sir, if you were my husband , I would put arsenic in your tea!’ Churchill: ‘If I were your husband , I would drink it!’ This apocryphal joke is a reminder that arsenic is a potentially fatal poison. The phrase ‘mad as a hatter’ stems from the historical use of mercury by hatmakers, which could have neurotoxic consequences. Ironically, both these metals were also used therapeutically in the past to treat various diseases including syphilis. Arsenic and mercury, along with lead and cadmium, are often referred to as ‘heavy metals’, although it has been suggested that this term is misleading and should be replaced.1 These four toxic metal pollutants, which have no essential biological function, are established threats to human health,2 especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) where exposure levels are high. Occupational exposure aside, general population sources of exposure to these toxic metals broadly include the air, soil, food and water. Rapid industria