Title: A 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.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution recognizes National Poison Prevention Week, expresses gratitude for the people who operate local poison control centers, and encourages health care providers and others to practice poison safety and poisoning prevention.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 546 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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--

    (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;
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--

    (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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the week of March 15 through March 21, 2020, 
        as ``National Poison Prevention Week'';
            (2) expresses gratitude for the people who operate or 
        support poison control centers in their local communities;
            (3) supports efforts and resources to provide poison 
        prevention guidance or emergency assistance in response to 
        poisonings; and
            (4) encourages--
                    (A) the people of the United States to educate 
                their communities and families about poison safety and 
                poisoning prevention; and
                    (B) health care providers to practice and promote 
                poison safety and poisoning prevention.
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