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Poisoning in the United States: Fact Sheet

Overview

A poison is any substance that is harmful to your body when ingested (eaten), inhaled (breathed), injected, or absorbed through the skin. Any substance can be poisonous if enough is taken. This definition does not include adverse reactions to medications taken correctly.

Poisonings are either intentional or unintentional. If the person taking or giving a substance did not mean to cause harm, then it is an unintentional poisoning. Unintentional poisoning includes the use of drugs or chemicals for recreational purposes in excessive amounts, such as an “overdose.” It also includes the excessive use of drugs or chemicals for nonrecreational purposes, such as by a toddler. Intentional poisoning is the result of a person taking or giving a substance with the intention of causing harm. Suicide and assault by poisoning fall into this category. When the distinction between intentional and unintentional is unclear, poisonings are usually labeled “undetermined” in intent.

Information about both lead and carbon monoxide poisoning can be found on other CDC web pages; see sources of additional information for the relevant websites. Statistics below include poisoning from all substances, including lead and carbon monoxide.

Occurrence

Unintentional

Intentional

Most common poisons

Unintentional

Intentional

Costs

Groups at Risk

Unintentional

Among those who died from unintentional poisoning in 2005:

Among people who unintentionally poisoned themselves, received treatment in emergency departments and survived in 2006:

Intentional

Among those who committed suicide by poisoning in 2005:

Among those who intentionally harmed themselves with poison, received treatment in emergency departments, and survived in 2006:

Sources of Additional Information

Organizations

American Association of Poison Control Centers, Inc. *

National Center for Environmental Health: Carbon monoxide poisoning

National Center for Environmental Health: Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Publications

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unintentional and undetermined poisoning deaths -– 11 states, 1990-2001. MMWR 2004;53:233-8.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nonfatal, unintentional medication exposures among young children --- United States, 2001—2003. MMWR 2006;55:1-5.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unintentional poisoning deaths --- United States, 1999—2004. MMWR 2007;56:93-96.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2008) [cited 2008 Feb 19]. Available from URL: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wide-ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) [online]. (2007) [cited 2008 Feb 19]. Available from URL: http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortsql.html.

Finkelstein E, Corso P, Miller T. The incidence and economic costs of injury in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006.

Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR, Green G, Rumack BH, Heard SE. 2006 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS). Clinical Toxicology 2007;45:815-917.

Paulozzi LJ, Budnitz DS, Xi Y. Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 2006;15:618-27.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Office of Applied Studies. Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2005: national estimates of drug-related emergency department visits. DAWN Series D-29, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 07-4256. Rockville, MD, 2007.

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Content Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
Page last modified: March 13, 2008