Alerts

Keep Up-to-Date on the Latest Poison News

The AAPCC works with America's 57 poison centers to track poisonings and their sources, including household products, food and beverages, chemicals in the workplace and home, environmental toxins, drugs and medicine, and animal and insect bites and stings.

  • Bath Salts

    Synthetic cathinones, or “bath salts” are powerful drugs that can cause hallucinations and violent behavior.

  • Carbon Monoxide

    Use portable generators correctly to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

  • Laundry Detergent Packets

    Highly concentrated “single-load liquid laundry packets” can cause serious harm to young children.

  • Synthetic Marijuana

    Use of synthetic cannabinoids can cause dangerous health effects like psychotic episodes and seizures.

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  • Schauben Presents at International Symposium

    AAPCC President-Elect Jay Schauben recently presented at International Symposium on National Poison Centers in Pacific Region in Seoul, South Korea.

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  • Meet Your Poison Center Experts!

    When you call the Poison Help line, a poison expert is on the other end of line to help you. Each week, the AAPCC will put a face to the friendly voice you trust. Click below to view this week's AAPCC Poison Center Spotlight!

    Click Here

  • Poison Centers Save the U.S. $1.8 Billion Per Year

    For every dollar invested in the poison center system, $13.39 are saved in medical costs and lost productivity, for a total savings of more than $1.8 billion every year.

    See the Report

  • We Value Your Input!

    Thanks for visiting the American Association of Poison Control Centers new website. Please tell us what you think of our new design. Take this short survey to let us know.

    Survey

  • Support the AAPCC Today!

    Responding to more than 4 million calls each year, poison centers save countless American lives and millions of American taxpayer dollars every year by providing free, confidential medical advice to people who have been exposed to poison. AAPCC supports the nation’s 57 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures.

    Donate

  • "Unquestionable Answers" Campaign

    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!"

    Read More

  • Funding Cuts Jeopardize Poison Centers

    America’s 57 poison centers are among the first to identify emerging public health threats. Despite the life-saving services provided by poison centers, however, state and federal funding cuts jeopardize the future of a nationwide poison center system. Take Action

    Take Action

Prevention

In 2010, America’s 57 poison centers received about 4 million calls. Of those, about 2.4 million were calls about poison exposures ranging from carbon monoxide to snake bites to food poisoning. The rest were calls for information.

These prevention tips can help you or your loved ones avoid poisonings. For more tips and information, call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

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  • Adults

    Poison centers aren't just for parents whose children get into the cleaning cabinet. Although children younger than 6 accounted for about half of all the poison exposure calls to poison center in 2010, adults accounted for 92 percent of all poison-related deaths reported to poison centers.

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  • Babysitters

    Caring for children is a great job, and keeping children safe is a serious and important part of babysitting. In fact, poisoning is one of the most common childhood injuries.

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  • Children

    You can get poisoned by eating, drinking, touching, or smelling something that can make you sick or hurt you. Always ask a trusted grown-up before you take any medicine. Never put anything in your mouth if you are not sure if it is safe to eat. Ask a grown-up first!

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  • Health Care Providers

    Poison centers are a valuable tool for medical consultations. Poisoning patients managed with poison center expertise experience shorter hospitalizations.

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  • In the Home

    Follow these steps to make sure your home is poison-proof.

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National Poison Data System

Data on the number and severity of exposures are critical for knowing which medicines and products pose health risks to the American Public. AAPCC owns and manages a large database holding information from all information and human poison exposure case phone calls into all poison centers across the country. This database is called the National Poison Data System (NPDS) and it is the only near real-time comprehensive poisoning surveillance database in the United States.

AAPCC also releases a complex report of NPDS data annually approximately a year after the close of the data year reported. Each report is published in the journal, Clinical Toxicology and is available for download free-of-charge at the AAPCC Web site. 

Request Data Current Annual Report past reports

Our Work

The AAPCC's mission is to actively advance the health care role and public health mission of our members through information, advocacy, education and research. 

The AAPCC is located at 515 King St., Suite 510, Alexandria, Va. 22314. 

Phone: 703.894.1858

Email: info@aapcc.org

About AAPCC ›Working with the AAPCC ›

Press Releases

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Find Your Local Poison Center

Poison centers offer free, private, confidential medical advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can reach your local poison center by calling 1-800-222-1222.

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