[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 15201-15202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7183]



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Part II





The President





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Proclamation 7281--National Poison Prevention Week, 2000
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 21, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 7281 of March 17, 2000

                
National Poison Prevention Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Children face many dangers growing up, including some 
                which we cannot foresee or prevent. But the danger of 
                accidental poisoning from medicines, household 
                chemicals, or other substances used routinely in the 
                home is something we can--and must--stop. Each year 
                during National Poison Prevention Week, we assess our 
                progress in saving lives and reaffirm our national 
                commitment to preventing injuries or deaths from 
                poisoning.

                We have indeed made progress in the nearly 4 decades 
                since the Congress first authorized this annual 
                observance. In 1962, almost 450 children died of 
                poisoning after swallowing medicines or household 
                chemicals. By 1996, that tragic statistic had been 
                reduced to 47. Our goal is to reduce it to zero.

                The first and most effective means to achieving this 
                goal is the proper use of child-resistant packaging, 
                which the Consumer Product Safety Commission requires 
                for many medicines and household chemicals. While this 
                special packaging is child-resistant, however, it is 
                not childproof; therefore, it is essential that adults 
                keep potentially poisonous substances locked away from 
                children.

                Our second line of defense is America's poison control 
                centers, where lifesaving information is only a phone 
                call away. If a poisoning does occur, parents or other 
                caregivers can call one of these centers and 
                immediately learn the appropriate actions to take to 
                mitigate the poison's effects. Last month, I was proud 
                to sign into law the Poison Control Center Enhancement 
                and Awareness Act, which authorizes $140 million over 
                the next 5 years to fund our Nation's poison control 
                centers, to carry out a national public awareness 
                campaign, and to establish a national toll-free poison 
                control hotline. Each year, more than 2 million 
                poisonings are reported, a million of which involve 
                children, and this new funding will ensure that callers 
                have immediate access to the vital services and 
                information they need to save lives.

                I thank the Poison Prevention Week Council, which 
                brings together 35 national organizations to distribute 
                poison prevention information to pharmacies, public 
                health departments, and safety organizations 
                nationwide, for its vital role in the progress 
                Americans have made in reducing accidental poisonings. 
                By following its lead, properly using child-resistant 
                packaging, keeping poisonous substances locked away 
                from children, and keeping the number of a poison 
                prevention center close by the telephone, we can 
                greatly reduce accidental poisonings.

                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 19, 2000, as National Poison Prevention 
                Week. I call upon all Americans to observe

[[Page 15202]]

                this week by participating in appropriate programs and 
                activities and by learning how to protect our children 
                from poisonous substances.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-7183
Filed 3-20-00; 11:31 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P