How dangerous is it to use cadmium paints?

I was wondering how safe it was to use cadmium paint. I've heard of some of the health risks that using a lot of it constantly would cause, but I don't plan on using it that often. I can't imagine it being more dangerous than the pastels that I use (and have no clue what toxins are in), but being naive and having done a report on the effects of cadmium (in general; not neccessarily in paints), I can't be too sure. I would greatly appreciate a response.