Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Presidential Documents 16369 

Proclamation 10349 of March 18, 2022 

National Poison Prevention Week, 2022 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Each year, more than 2 million poisoning cases are reported in the United 

States—some of which are tragically fatal, but many of which are preventable. 

While we have made great strides in the decades since National Poison 

Prevention Week was first observed 60 years ago—including a decline in 

unintentional poisoning—poisoning remains a risk, especially for children 

and older Americans. During National Poison Prevention Week, we raise 

awareness about the dangers posed by poisonous substances, precautions 

people can take to prevent an incident, and how to respond in a poison 

emergency. 

Each year, an average of 31 children die from unintended poisonings at 

home, and an estimated 75,000 children under the age of five end up 

in hospital emergency departments from poisoning. Approximately 85 percent of unintentional poisonings take place in the home where medicines 

and harmful chemicals are stored. 

To prevent children from unintentionally ingesting poisonous household 

products, it is important to keep these products out of their sight and 

beyond their reach. Items such as hand sanitizer, laundry detergent, medications, coin cell batteries, cleaning products, and liquid nicotine should be 

stored in child-resistant packaging. Medications should be safely secured, 

and if unused, properly discarded. For elderly Americans—particularly those 

who may have become isolated due to the pandemic—it is important that 

household products are secured in their original packaging and that medications are clearly labeled to avoid accidental ingestion or the mistaking of 

medications. 

Health professionals working around the clock and responding to millions 

of calls each year at poison control centers are critical to our Nation’s 

response. They not only help the public in need of assistance or information, 

they are also a tremendous asset to health care providers, health departments, 

law enforcement, and first responders. 

If you suspect that you or someone else has been poisoned, do not wait 

for signs of poisoning. Immediately call the Poison Control Help line at 

800–222–1222. For more information, go to poisonhelp.hrsa.gov. 

Poison awareness, control, and education are essential to saving lives. During 

National Poison Prevention Week, we recommit to raising awareness about 

the dangers of accidental poisonings and taking the necessary precautions 

to prevent and respond quickly to these incidents and protect our loved 

ones. 

To encourage Americans to learn more about the dangers of unintentional 

poisonings and to take appropriate preventive measures, on September 26, 

1961, the United States Congress, by joint resolution (75 Stat. 681), authorized 

and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the third 

week of March each year as ‘‘National Poison Prevention Week.’’ 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, do hereby proclaim March 20 through March 26, 2022, to 

be National Poison Prevention Week. I call upon all Americans to observe 


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16370 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Presidential Documents 

this week by taking actions to safeguard their families and friends from 

poisonous products, chemicals, and medicines often found in our homes, 

and to raise awareness of these dangers to prevent accidental injuries and 

deaths. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day 

of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the 

Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortysixth. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06248 

Filed 3–22–22; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F2–P 


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