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Child-Resistant Closures and Veterinary Drugs Dispensed by Veterinarians to the

Consumer

CPSC Document #5104

The magnitude of the potential "veterinary

drug" problem is evident from Information

published in the March 1986 Issue of

Pharmacy Times, which noted that today In

the U S. there are about 36 million

households that own at least one dog; 24

million households with at least one cat;

and 15 million households owning (in

decreasing order of frequency) fish, birds,

rodents, and reptiles.

The American Veterinary Medical

Association has long been on record as

favoring the use of child-resistant

packaging by dispensing veterinarians. At

the 1986 Winter I meeting of the AVMA's

Council on Therapeutic and Biological

Drugs, the Council reaffirmed its

previous position calling for the

voluntary use of child-resistant

packaging by veterinarians when

dispensing veterinary drugs.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission strongly supports this

recommendation. The Commission urges

all veterinary medical practitioners to

adopt the practice of routinely using

child-resistant packaging, particularly

when dispensing some of the more toxic

agents available for veterinary use.

Early attempts to reduce accidental

poisonings by household substances relied

on labeling of hazardous substances and

efforts to educate parents about the

hazards associated with the use and

A manufacturer of a non-prescription

product regulated under the PPPA may

market a single size of that product In a

conventional package, provided that the

package is labeled to Indicate that it is for

households without young children and

provided that the manufacturer also

markets the product in packages which

comply with the regulation. On the other

hand, those regulated substances which

may be sold only on the order of a licensed

medical practitioner must be dispensed in

child-resistant (CR) packaging unless

requested otherwise by the purchaser or

the prescribing medical practitioner.

Therefore, unless requested otherwise,

human oral pres ription drugs are required

to be in child-resistant packaging when

they are dispensed by pharmacists.

However, veterinary prescription drugs,

which are often both prescribed and

dispensed by veterinarians, are not

required to be In child-resistant packaging.

In studies by the U.S. Consumer Product

Safety Commission, a number of facts were

revealed about veterinary prescription

drugs and their dispensing patterns:

-The majority of veterinary drugs prescribed

for small animals were generic equivalents

of orally administered human prescription

drugs.

-Approximately 95 percent of all veterinary

drug prescriptions were for small animals

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Consumers can obtain this publication and additional publication information from the Publications section of CPSC's

web site or by sending your publication request to info@cpsc.gov.

This document is in the public domain. It may be reproduced without change in part or whole by an individual or

organization without permission. If it is reproduced, however, the Commission would appreciate knowing how it is

used. Write the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information and Public Affairs, 4330 East West

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 or send an e-mail via CPSC's On-Line Form.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of

serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is

committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical

hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette

lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated

with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's

teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email

subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall

information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

storage of hazardous substances in the

home. These efforts prevented many accidents; however, they were only partially

effective for the most frequently involved

group, children under the age of five.

The Poison Prevention Packaging Act

(PPPA) of 1970, authorizes the

establishment of mandatory safety

packaging standards for categories of

products which, because of the nature of

the hazard to children, require childresistant packaging to prevent death or

serious injury or illness in children under

the age of five.

Sixteen categories of substances have

been regulated to date. These include

caustics such as sodium and/or potassium

hydroxide drain cleaners, various

petroleum distillate-containing household

cleaning products, solvents and' fuels,

several over-the-counter drugs, and oral

human prescription drugs as well as

controlled drugs.

kept in or around the home.

-A high percentage of veterinary drugs

(more than 90 percent) are dispensed by

veterinarians, the balance (generally

controlled drugs) are dispensed by

pharmacists.

Many toxic prescription drugs are

consequently available in the home in

conventional packaging when prescribed

for the family pet, while they would be in

protective safety packaging when

prescribed for a family member. While not

all prescription drugs are so classed on the

basis of toxicity, a potential for childhood

injury exists anytime one of the more toxic

prescription items enters the home in a

non-safety package. Therefore, CPSC

urges all veterinary medical

practitioners to use child-resistant

packaging. For more Information about the

Poison Prevention Packaging Act and

child-resistant packaging, call the U S

Consumer Product Safety Commission at

the toll-free hotline number shown below.

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