Packaging's role in poison prevention

A recent press clipping noted that about 78,000 children under five years old visited U.S. hospital emergency rooms due to unintentional poisonings in 2003. That's about one every seven minutes, reported the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Most of these poisonings included products commonly found in the home, including over-the-counter pain relievers, cough and cold medicines, and iron-containing vitamins and supplements. CPSC, the National Poison Prevention Week Council, and the American Assn. of Poison Control Centers released the data in March. Rose Ann Soloway, chair of the Poison Prevention Week Council, noted that when repackaged at home in non-child-resistant containers, medicines and potentially hazardous household products become even more accessible and dangerous for young children.