III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 546 

Recognizing the week of March 15 through March 21, 2020, as ‘‘National 

Poison Prevention Week’’ and encouraging communities across the 

United States to raise awareness of the dangers of poisoning and promote 

poisoning prevention. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2020 

Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the week of March 15 through March 21, 2020, 

as ‘‘National Poison Prevention Week’’ and encouraging 

communities across the United States to raise awareness 

of the dangers of poisoning and promote poisoning prevention. 

Whereas the designation of National Poison Prevention Week 

was first authorized by Congress and President Kennedy 

in 1961 in Public Law 87–319 (75 Stat. 681); 

Whereas National Poison Prevention Week occurs during the 

third full week of March each year; 

Whereas the American Association of Poison Control Centers 

(referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘AAPCC’’) works 

with the 55 poison control centers in the United States— 


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•SRES 546 IS 

(1) to track more than 1,000 commonly used household and workplace products; and 

(2) to track poisonings and the sources of those 

poisonings; 

Whereas 2,000,000 people call the poison help line annually 

to reach a poison control center; 

Whereas, as reported to the AAPCC, more than 90 percent 

of poison exposures reported to local poison control centers occur in the home; 

Whereas local poison control centers save the people of the 

United States $1,800,000,000 in medical costs per year; 

Whereas the AAPCC and poison control centers partner with 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food 

and Drug Administration, and State and local health departments to monitor occurrences of environmental, biological, and emerging threats in communities across the 

United States, including food poisoning, botulism, and 

vaping-associated lung injury; 

Whereas, in the United States— 

(1) more than 300 children 19 years of age and 

younger are treated in emergency departments for poisoning every day; and 

(2) 980 children 19 years of age and younger die as 

a result of being poisoned each year; 

Whereas children younger than 6 years of age constitute 

nearly 1⁄2 of all poison exposures each year; 

Whereas, from 2010 to 2018, data from poison control centers revealed a significant increase of 9.9 percent in the 

number of intentional suicide patients who were adolescents 10 to 19 years of age, and that increase disproportionately occurred among females; 


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Whereas, in 2018— 

(1) more than 114,000 children 19 years of age and 

younger were treated in an emergency room due to unintended pediatric poisoning; and 

(2) more than 90 percent of those incidents occurred 

in the home, most often with blood pressure medications, 

acetaminophen, laundry packets, bleach, or sedatives or 

anti-anxiety medication; 

Whereas 70,237 cases of death due to drug overdose were reported in the United States in 2017, and the majority of 

those cases, approximately 68 percent, involved an opioid; 

Whereas the most common medications that adults call the 

poison help line about are analgesics, antipsychotics, 

antidepressants, and cardiovascular medications; 

Whereas pain medications— 

(1) lead the list of the most common substances implicated in adult poison exposures; and 

(2) are the single most frequent cause of pediatric 

fatalities reported to the AAPCC; 

Whereas poison control centers issue guidance and provide 

support to individuals, including individuals who experience medication and dosing errors; 

Whereas more than 60 percent of therapeutic errors involve 

individuals 20 years of age or older, with more than 1⁄2

of those involving patients older than 50 years of age, 

and common errors include drug interactions, incorrect 

dosing route, incorrect timing of doses, and double doses; 

Whereas normal, curious children younger than 6 years of 

age— 


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(1) are in stages of growth and development in 

which they are constantly exploring and investigating the 

world around them; and 

(2) are often unable to read or recognize warning labels; 

Whereas the AAPCC— 

(1) engages in community outreach by educating the 

public on poison safety and poisoning prevention; and 

(2) provides educational resources, materials, and 

guidelines to educate the public on poisoning prevention; 

Whereas individuals can reach a poison control center from 

anywhere in the United States by calling the poison help 

line at 1–800–222–1222; 

Whereas, despite regulations of the Consumer Product Safety 

Commission requiring that a child-resistant package be 

designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for 

children under 5 years of age to open, or obtain a harmful amount of the contents, within a reasonable time, 

children can still get into child-resistant packages; and 

Whereas, each year during National Poison Prevention Week, 

the Federal Government assesses the progress made by 

the Federal Government in saving lives and reaffirms the 

national commitment of the Federal Government to preventing injuries and deaths from poisoning: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the week of March 15 through 

3 March 21, 2020, as ‘‘National Poison Prevention 

4 Week’’; 


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1 (2) expresses gratitude for the people who oper2 ate or support poison control centers in their local 

3 communities; 

4 (3) supports efforts and resources to provide 

5 poison prevention guidance or emergency assistance 

6 in response to poisonings; and 

7 (4) encourages— 

8 (A) the people of the United States to edu9 cate their communities and families about poi10 son safety and poisoning prevention; and 

11 (B) health care providers to practice and 

12 promote poison safety and poisoning prevention. 

Æ 


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