National Poison Prevention Week: Child-Resistant Packaging Saves Lives

Child-resistant packaging for aspirin and oral prescription medicine may have saved the lives of about 700 children since the requirements went into effect in the early 1970s, according to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Jacqueline Jones-Smith. However, this success story has not eliminated the poisoning problem in America, as noted in the annual National Poison Prevention Week news conference today. In 1989, 55 children under age five died from accidental poisoning with medicines or household chemicals. Nearly a million consumers called poison control centers about actual or ""near-miss"" child poisonings.

National Poison Prevention Week will be observed on March 21-27, 1993. Speakers at today's news conference emphasized the importance of keeping medicines (especially iron-containing medicines) and household chemicals out of the reach of young children. CPSC Chairman Jones-Smith and Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson Stephen Johnson displayed examples of medicines, household chemicals, and pesticides that must be in child-resistant packaging (see photo attached).

Another participant at the National Poison Prevention Week news conference was two-year-old Jason Cheslock from Gaithersburg, Maryland. Last year, young Jason was poisoned when he swallowed his uncle's aspirin. Through quick action advised by the National Capital Poison Center, Jason recovered completely. His case was one of nearly a million poisonings of young children last year.

Rose Ann Soloway, Chairman of the Poison Prevention Week Council, noted that the coalition of 37 national organizations works to stop accidental poisonings by distributing information and by encouraging local poison control centers, pharmacies, public health departments, and others to conduct poison prevention programs in their communities. She advised, "If a poisoning occurs, call a poison control center immediately."

CPSC participates in the Poison Prevention Week Council activities as part of its mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. The Commission's objective is to reduce the estimated 28.5 million injuries and 21,600 deaths associated each year with the 15,000 different types of consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction. For a checklist on poison prevention, consumers may send a postcard to Poison Prevention Checklist, Washington, DC 20207.

NOTE TO TV REPORTERS/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Video on Jason Cheslock, who survived a poisoning, is available. Call Ken Giles or Al Maruggi at 301-504-7908 for details.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY: The following individuals will be available for photos and interviews at the news conference: Jacqueline Jones-Smith, Chairman, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Rose Ann Soloway, Chairman, Poison Prevention Week Council Stephen Johnson, Director of Field Operations Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Two-year-old Jason Cheslock, who was poisoned but fully recovered after emergency assistance by the National Capital Poison Center. Jason's parents, Joe and Robin Cheslock, will be at the news conference to tell his story.

The Presidential Proclamation and remarks by these speakers are available in the press kit for National Poison Prevention Week. A collection of potentially poisonous household chemicals and medicines will be on display at the news conference (photo attached).