National Poison Prevention Week is observed in the United States the third week of March. The goal of the week is to

raise awareness Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause or ...

of the risk of being

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ed by household products,

medicines A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and la ...

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

bites Biting is a common zoological behavior involving the active, rapid closing of the jaw around an object. This behavior is found in toothed animals such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, but can also exist in arthropods. Myocytic cont ...

and stings,

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disea ...

, and fumes. Awareness being duly raised, it is hoped that this will prevent poisoning.

Origin

On September 26, 1961, the

87th United States Congress The 87th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 196 ...

passed a

joint resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the President for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal diff ...

() requesting that the President of the United States proclaim the third week of March National Poison Prevention Week. On February 7, 1962, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

responded to this request and proclaimed the third week of March as National Poison Prevention Week. The first National Poison Prevention Week was therefore observed in March 1962.

Poisoning: A National Scourge

More than two million potential poison exposures are reported every year to American

poison control centers A poison control center is a medical service that is able to provide immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance over the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances. Poison control centers answer questions ...

. More than 90% of these poisoning occur in the home, and a majority of these occur with children five years of age and younger. Though calls regarding children still make up more than half of all calls to poison control centers, they only account for a small percent of the deaths due to poisoning. Poisoning of adults is on the rise in our nation and only stands behind motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths. Over 1000 Americans die from poisoning every year.

Poisoning: Prevent It

The American Association of Poison Control Centers, representing the poison control center network of the United States, offers the following poison prevention tips: # If you think someone has been poisoned, call 1-800-222-1222 right away. Serious poisonings don't always have early signs. # Put the number for your poison control center (1-800-222-1222) in your cell phone and near home phones. # Keep medicines and household products in their original containers in a different place than food. # Always read product labels and follow any directions. # Keep household products and medicines locked up. Put them where kids can't see them or reach them. # Buy products with child-resistant packaging. But remember, nothing is child-proof. # Never call medicine "candy." Poisons may look like food or drink. Teach children to ask an adult before tasting anything. # Learn about products and drugs that young people use to get "high." Talk to your teen or pre-teen about these dangers. # Have a working carbon monoxide alarm in your home. Call 1-800-222-1222 to reach your local poison control center, anywhere in the United States. The call is free, private, 24/7/365, and expert help is available in more than 150 languages.

The National Poison Prevention Week Council

The National Poison Week Prevention Week Council was established in early 1962 to oversee the national observation of National Poison Prevention Week. As of August 2011, the National Poison Prevention Week Council included representatives of the following organizations: *

American Academy of Clinical Toxicology The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT) is a non-profit multidisciplinary health association that promotes research, education, prevention, and treatment of diseases caused by chemicals. Its membership consists of clinical and resear ...

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was found ...

American Association of Poison Control Centers The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1958 that represents the nation's 55 poison centers. The AAPCC supports poison centers in their public health mission to prevent poisonin ...

American Cleaning Institute The American Cleaning Institute (ACI formerly The Soap and Detergent Association – SDA) is an organization representing producers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products, their ingredients and finished packaging; oleochemic ...

American College of Emergency Physicians The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is a professional organization of emergency medicine physicians in the United States. The organization was founded August 16, 1968, by eight physicians in Lansing, Michigan. ACEP established t ...

American Pharmacists Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more th ...

American Red Cross National Headquarters The American Red Cross National Headquarters is located at 430 17th Street NW in Washington, D.C. Built between 1915 and 1917, it serves both as a memorial to women who served in the American Civil War and as the headquarters building for the Ame ...

American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...

Art & Creative Materials Institute About ACMI ACMI was initially known as the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute, Inc. It was renamed the Art & Craft Materials Institute in 1982. It adopted its current name in the late 2000s. ACMI was founded in 1936 and is currently headqua ...

Closure & Container Manufacturers Association The Closure & Container Manufacturers Association (CCMA) is a United States trade association of manufacturers who produce closures and containers. Only manufacturers of plastic containers are represented in the association, although this may c ...

* Consumer Healthcare Products Association *

Consumer Specialty Products Association A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

* National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners * National Community Pharmacists Association *

National Safety Council The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressi ...

SAFE KIDS Worldwide Safe Kids Worldwide (formerly Safe Kids USA) is a global non-profit organization working to prevent childhood injury through research, community outreach, legislative advocacy and media awareness campaigns. Safe Kids Worldwide has over 400 coali ...

* U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention *

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

Health Resources and Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for peopl ...

, HHS *

References

External links

Presidential Proclamation Creating National Poison Prevention Week

The Official National Poison Prevention Week website

President Obama's Press Release on Poison Prevention Week 2009
{{US Observances March observances Awareness weeks in the United States Presidency of John F. Kennedy Observances in the United States Health observances