[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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