@FaithfullJohn @vickyveritas True, cinnabar was widely used as a pigment (vermilion) and in some traditional medicinal compounds and is is much more stable, and thus has less toxic potential (decomposing to elemental mercury), than, for example, Calomel (mercurous chloride) which was used as a treatment for everything from infant teething pain to treatment of syphilis and yellow fever, to sometimes deadly results. It is not clear to me if noted toxicity is due to cinnabar itself, or it's association with calomel or free mercury as incorporated into pigments or medicinals. Geologically, it is found in hydrothermal deposits, and volcanoes which would be reactive environments.

And, to be fair, Quartz (silicon dioxide) if ground up into fine particles and inhaled, can cause serious lung disease.