[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 625 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 625
Recognizing the week of March 17 through March 23, 2024, as ``National
Poison Prevention Week'' and encouraging communities across the United
States to raise awareness of the dangers of poisoning and promote
poison prevention.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 23 (legislative day, March 22), 2024
Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, and Mr.
Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which was considered
and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the week of March 17 through March 23, 2024, as ``National
Poison Prevention Week'' and encouraging communities across the United
States to raise awareness of the dangers of poisoning and promote
poison 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, in 2022, poison centers responded to more than 2,000,000 human exposure
cases and information requests, including--
(1) opioid and fentanyl misuse;
(2) suicide attempts, including those by adolescents and teens; and
(3) accidental edible cannabis ingestion;
Whereas poison centers are on the front lines assisting throughout the United
States with emergency disasters in our communities, including the East
Palestine, Ohio, train derailment;
Whereas poison control centers responded to COVID-19 related surges by
conducting poison safety and poisoning prevention outreach in a virtual
format during the COVID-19 pandemic and handled increases in cases
relating to hand sanitizer and household cleaning products;
Whereas America's Poison Centers works with the 55 poison control centers in the
United States to track--
(1) commonly used household and workplace products that can cause
poisoning; and
(2) poisonings and the sources of those poisonings;
Whereas the National Poison Data System contains over 466,000 products, ranging
from viral and bacterial agents to commercial chemical and drug
products;
Whereas local poison control centers save the people in medical costs;
Whereas America's Poison Centers and poison control centers partner with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug
Administration, and State, local, Tribal, and territorial 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, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2020, an
estimated 61,500 children under the age of 5 were treated in emergency
rooms due to unintended poisonings;
Whereas, in 2021, children younger than 6 years of age constituted 41 percent of
all poison exposures;
Whereas, from 2012 to 2022, the number of adolescents 10 to 19 years of age seen
for a suicide attempt has nearly doubled and that has disproportionately
affected female adolescents;
Whereas, in 2022, more than 90,000 children 19 years of age and younger were
treated in an emergency room due to unintended pediatric poisoning and
more than 90 percent of those incidents occurred in the home, most often
with acetaminophen, edible cannabis, melatonin, ibuprofen, laundry
packets, bleach, diphenhydramine, blood pressure medications, or
sedatives or anti-anxiety medication;
Whereas an analysis of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System
shows--
(1) children experienced an increased incidence of ingestion of
dangerous foreign bodies like button batteries and high-powered magnets
during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
(2) evidence that parents and caregivers sought care for foreign body
ingestions either because they knew the relative danger of the object
ingested or because they sought advice from available resources like the
poison control centers;
Whereas 107,622 deaths due to drug overdose were reported in the United States
in 2021, and the majority of those cases, approximately 75 percent,
involved an opioid, primarily synthetic opioids like fentanyl;
Whereas, in 2021, the most common substances that individuals called the poison
helpline about were prescription and non-prescription pain relievers,
household cleaning substances, cosmetics and personal care products, and
antidepressants;
Whereas pain medications lead the list of the most common substances implicated
in adult poison exposures and are the single most frequent cause of
fatalities reported to America's Poison Centers;
Whereas poison control centers issue guidance and provide support to
individuals, including individuals who experience medication and dosing
errors;
Whereas more than 40 percent of calls to the poison helpline are from
individuals 20 years of age or older, and a common reason for those
calls is therapeutic errors, including questions regarding drug
interactions, incorrect dosing route, timing of doses, and double doses;
Whereas active, curious children will often investigate and sometimes ingest
things they find, and every day over 300 children between the ages of 0
to 19 are treated for accidental poisoning in the United States;
Whereas America's Poison Centers engages in community outreach by educating the
public on poison safety and poisoning prevention and 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 or
accessing PoisonHelp.org;
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, children can still open child-
resistant packages within a reasonable time; 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 17 through March 23, 2024,
as ``National Poison Prevention Week'';
(2) expresses gratitude for the people who operate or
support poison control centers in their local communities;
(3) expresses gratitude for frontline workers who supported
poison prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic;
(4) supports efforts and resources to provide poison
prevention guidance or emergency assistance in response to
poisonings; and
(5) 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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