The 2012 North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas!

NACCT 2012 conference headquarters will be The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The Cosmopolitan features numerous resort attractions, including a one-of-a-kind restaurant collection, trendy boutiques, full-service spa and three unique pool experiences. Guest rooms are the height of luxury with over-sized living spaces, private terraces, the latest in technology and marble bathrooms with sensuous Japanese soaking tubs.

AAPCC 2013 Midyear Directors Meeting 
The AAPCC 2013 Midyear Directors Meeting will be held Feb. 24 (check-in) through 26, 2013, at the Crystal City Marriott in Washington D.C. Tuesday, Feb. 26 will include an opportunity for members to make hill visits.

 Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA  22202

In an effort to encourage young adults to call the Poison Help hotline instead of searching the Internet for answers to poisoning questions, the AAPCC has launched "Unquestionable Answers," a social media campaign with the theme "Stop searching. Just call!" Click here to read the news release. To see the campaign, visit www.facebook.com/aapcc, follow @aapcc on Twitter, or click here.

Poison Centers Issue Warning About the Cinnamon Challenge
Experts at America's 57 poison centers are urging parents and caregivers to talk to their teens about the cinnamon challenge, explaining that what may seem like a silly game can have serious health consequences. Read the news release here.

National Poison Prevention Week 50th Anniversary
The American Association of Poison Control Centers joined local poison centers and poison prevention partners across the country in celebrating the 50th anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week March 18 through 24, 2012. Click here for more information.  

American Association of Poison Control Centers Joins Office of National Drug Control Policy Working Group in Addressing Dangers of Synthetic Drugs
At a recent meeting, Debbie Carr, AAPCC executive director, and Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Center, provided information about the the epidemic of synthetic drugs from the poison center perspective, as well as data concerning the number of calls to poison centers about bath salts and synthetic marijuana. Click here to read the news release.

Poison Centers at Forefront in Identifying New Public Health Threats
Despite Essential Services, Funding Cuts Jeopardize Poison Centers
America’s 57 poison centers are among the first to identify emerging public health threats, most recently leading to the DEA’s ban on bath salts and synthetic marijuana. Despite the life-saving services provided by poison centers, however, state and federal funding cuts jeopardize the future of a nationwide poison center system. Read the news release here. 

American Association of Poison Control Centers Releases Annual Poison Exposure Report
America’s 57 poison centers fielded 3.9 million calls in 2010, an average of nearly 11,000 per day, according to the recently published 2010 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System. Poison experts at the nation’s poison centers treated 2.4 million human poison exposures and handled 1.5 million information calls in 2010. Children younger than 6 accounted for about half of all the poison exposure calls; however, adults 20 and older accounted for 92 percent of all deaths reported.  Read the news release here.

Keep Medicines Up and Away
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association unveil a new program, Up and Away, which aims to educate parents about the dangers of child medication ingestions and encourages parents to keep medicines put up and out of sight of children. Read the AAPCC news release here.

Poison Centers Help DEA Ban Synthetic Drugs
Data from the nation’s 57 poison centers recently helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency monitor the rise in the abuse of new synthetic drugs and provided vital information leading to the agency’s enactment of rules banning the substances. Click here to read the news release.

A Bitter Pill
In March 2011, the U.S. Congress cut federal funding for the nation’s poison control centers by 25 percent. In the next few months, poison centers may face additional funding cuts as Congress finalizes the 2012 federal budget.

An article in the August 2011 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine describes why reducing funding to poison control centers doesn’t save money in the long run. In fact, the Institute of Medicine estimates that every dollar spent on U.S. poison centers saves $10 in avoided health-care costs each year.

Click here to read “A Bitter Pill.” Click here to access the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Poison Centers Raise Alarm About "Bath Salts"
Doctors and clinicians at U.S. poison centers were the first to raise the alarm about toxic products marketed as bath salts that are causing increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia and delusions.  These products continue to cause serious health risks across our country.  Click here for our initial release on the substances.  Click here for the most recent data.

Poison Centers Report Calls About Synthetic Marijuana
Doctors and clinicians at U.S. poison centers say that a synthetic version of marijuana that is frequently sold as incense or potpourri has spurred symptoms including a fast heart rate, confusion and nausea. To read more about it click here. Click here for the most recent data.

Poison Centers Applaud DEA's Ban of Bath Salts
Poison centers first raised the alarm about  synthetic drugs marketed as bath salts in December 2010 after they started receiving calls about people having serious reactions to the chemicals. Today, America's 57 poison centers applauded the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's ban of the chemicals used to product bath salts. Click here to read the AAPCC news release.