This National Safety Month, Stay Safe from Unintentional Poisoning

In 2005, 65 people died every day from unintentional poisoning – and the numbers of deaths has been increasing. Arm yourself with information that can reduce your- or a loved one's- risk of unintentional overdose and possibly save a life.

What You Should Know

• In 2005, a total of 23,618 people in the United States died from unintentional poisoning.

• In 2006, 1,900 people a day—a total of 703,700— were seen in emergency departments every day after a poisoning incident.

• Unintentional poisoning deaths are on the rise. Poisoning death rates in the United States increased by 62.5% from 1999–2004.

• 95% of poisoning deaths are a result of drug poisoning – and more than half of them are due to prescription drugs.

• Poisoning is not just a childhood problem. It affects adolescents and adults in increasing numbers.

What You Can Do

Follow tips that can keep you and others safe from unintentional poisoning, including:

• Follow directions on labels when you give or take medicines. Some medicines cannot be taken safely with other medications or with alcohol.

• Keep medicines in their original bottles or containers.

• Never share or sell your prescription drugs.

• Keep any opioid pain medications, such as methadone, hydrocodone, and oxycodone, in a safe place only reachable by people who take or give them.

• Monitor the use of medicines prescribed for children and teenagers, such as medicines for attention deficit disorder, or ADD.

• Follow federal guidelines for disposal of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs.

Where You Can Learn More

Web-based Resources

• Poisoning in the United States
Overview of poisoning in the United States, including occurrence, costs and risk factors.

• Poison prevention tips
Tips for keeping you, your family and your friends safe from poisonings.

• Medicine safety: Who's at risk and what you can do
Information on medication safety and how to properly take, monitor, and store medicines.

• Cold and cough medicines: Information for parents
Information on cough and cold medicines and children.

• Poisoning and methadone-related deaths
Overview of methadone-related poisoning deaths, including trends and state-specific data.

• National Safety Month 2008*
Monthly campaign materials, including safety tips on poisoning and other injury topics and posters and other materials for you to use to raise awareness and make a difference.

CDC Podcasts

• Protecting Yourself and Your Family Against Poisonings (2:59 mins)
Poisoning prevention tips for audiences of all ages.

• Unintentional Poisoning Deaths (6:12 mins)
Summary of a recent study on unintentional poisoning deaths, which indicated that poisoning death rates in the United States increased by 62.5% from 1999–2004.

• Cough and Cold Medications for Children (English) (2:29 mins)
This podcast discusses the safety concerns of cough and cold medications and children.

• Cough and Cold Medications for Children (Spanish) (1:48 mins)
Este podcast habla sobre las preocupaciones de salud relacionadas con el consumo de medicamentos para la tos y el resfriado en los niños, sin la supervisión de los padres.

• All Unintentional Injury Podcasts