Suffocation; a lack of oxygen that produces a potentially lethal build-up of carbon dioxide waste in the tissues.
Asphyxia may arise from any one of a number of causes, including inhalation of smoke or poisonous gases, obstruction of the windpipe (by water, food, vomit, or a foreign object), strangulation, or smothering. If it is not quickly relieved, brain damage or death ensues.
Red, white, and blue recall the French tricolour. Red, yellow, and green are the pan-African colours. Red represents the common blood of mankind which links African and European nations. Effective date: 1 December 1958.