[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 14353-14354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7389]



[[Page 14351]]

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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 7174--National Poison Prevention Week, 1999
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 24, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 14353]]

                Proclamation 7174 of March 19, 1999

                
National Poison Prevention Week, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Poison Prevention Week, Americans focus 
                on the progress we have made in reducing the number of 
                accidental poisonings that occur each year and reaffirm 
                our commitment to preventing further tragedies.

                We can be heartened by the progress we have made. In 
                1962, when President Kennedy proclaimed the first 
                National Poison Prevention Week, 450 young people died 
                due to poisoning. That number has fallen dramatically. 
                There are many who share the credit for this growing 
                success story: responsible parents and caregivers, who 
                keep medicines, cosmetics, household cleaners, 
                insecticides, and other poisonous substances out of the 
                reach of children; the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
                Commission, which requires the use of child-resistant 
                packaging on potentially dangerous materials; the 
                Poison Prevention Week Council, which annually 
                distributes poison prevention information to 
                pharmacies, public health departments, and safety 
                organizations; and our Nation's poison control centers, 
                which provide lifesaving emergency first aid 
                information. Working together, these dedicated 
                individuals and organizations have saved hundreds of 
                lives each year.

                But we cannot relax our efforts, because each life we 
                lose to accidental poisoning is one too many. We must 
                all do our part to protect our Nation's children by 
                selecting and properly using child-resistant packaging, 
                keeping poisonous substances accurately labeled and 
                locked away from children, carefully reading and 
                following all directions and caution labels on 
                packages, and keeping the number of a poison control 
                center close to the telephone. If a poisoning incident 
                does occur, we need to respond quickly by contacting 
                the poison control center, relaying the appropriate 
                information--such as the age and weight of the 
                poisoning victim and the type and amount of substance 
                he or she has ingested--and heeding instructions. These 
                simple safety measures can mean the difference between 
                life and death.

                To encourage the American people to learn more about 
                the dangers of accidental poisonings and to take 
                responsible preventive measures, the Congress, by joint 
                resolution approved September 26, 1961 (75 Stat. 681), 
                has authorized and requested the President to issue a 
                proclamation designating the third week of March of 
                each year as ``National Poison Prevention Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week 
                beginning March 21, 1999, as National Poison Prevention 
                Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week by 
                participating in appropriate ceremonies and activities 
                and by learning how to protect our children from 
                poisons.

[[Page 14354]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-7389
Filed 3-23-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P