A few days ago, newspapers broke the story of a young man, in his 20s, who died from suffocation and the survival of a girl from carbon monoxide poisoning in a few lines. They were both in a car in a closed garage and the car was turned on, for the air-conditioning. This article did not make anyone think as none of the columnists wrote about it in our newspapers despite the fact that such an incident had happened before more than once, with couples dying in all of them. Following such accidents, there is always a mixture of pain, sadness, despair, silence, scandals and the transfer of details between people in whispers.

I see that it is our duty to warn society of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and we all have to contribute to creating awareness among youth of this silent killer. This is an important issue which shouldn't be allowed to slip away. If we do so, then such incidents will recur in the future. I feel that such a topic should be included in drivers’ examinations.

What distinguishes poisoning with this gas is that it is a treacherous poison which leaks slowly, without any smell, taste or irritation. It attacks the hemoglobin and stops oxygen from going to the body. The lack of oxygen leads to an increase in breathing, which in turn increases the inhaling of this gas, thereby causing more poisoning and a greater deficit in oxygen levels. The decrease of oxygen in the brain leads to a loss of consciousness and with this you lose your chances to escape death.