National Poison Prevention Week, 2024

• Published date: 20 March 2024
• Record Number: 2024-06024
• Citation: 89 FR 19727
• Court: Executive Office Of The President
• Section: Presidential Documents

Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 55 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
                [Presidential Documents]
                [Pages 19727-19728]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2024-06024] Presidential Documents
                Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 55 / Wednesday, March 20, 2024 /
                Presidential Documents
                ___________________________________________________________________
                Title 3--
                The President
                [[Page 19727]]
                 Proclamation 10711 of March 15, 2024
                
                National Poison Prevention Week, 2024
                 By the President of the United States of America
                 A Proclamation
                 Every year, Americans report more than 2 million cases
                 of poisoning. During National Poison Prevention Week,
                 we thank all those who staff our Nation's poison
                 control centers for working around the clock to offer
                 people in need life-saving guidance and care. We urge
                 all Americans to learn how to prevent and respond to
                 poison emergencies.
                 Poisoning risks abound in everyday items, from
                 medicines and cosmetics to cleaning supplies and
                 household chemicals. Tens of thousands of children a
                 year end up in the emergency room after accidently
                 ingesting household products like the small batteries
                 found in toys and game controllers. Federal laws like
                 the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 and the
                 Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 have
                 saved countless lives, decreasing accidental childhood
                 poisoning deaths by over 70 percent since 1972. There
                 is still more to do.
                 In 2022, I signed Reese's Law, which established child
                 safety standards to reduce the risk of injury from
                 ingesting small batteries. To avoid dangerous mix-ups,
                 we urge everyone to label their medications clearly, to
                 keep them away from children in child-safe packaging,
                 and to throw them out when expired or no longer needed.
                 The liquid nicotine used in e-cigarettes can be deadly
                 and should be stored in child-resistant packaging.
                 My Administration is also taking aggressive action to
                 combat the opioid crisis. Following the directives
                 outlined in our National Drug Control Strategy, my
                 Administration is working to prevent dangerous illicit
                 drugs from ever reaching our borders by working with
                 countries like Mexico and the People's Republic of
                 China to disrupt the trafficking of deadly illicit
                 fentanyl and boosting law enforcement's capabilities at
                 the border. My Administration is funding the expansion
                 of substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment,
                 and recovery services including by expanding access to
                 lifesaving opioid-overdose-reversal medications like
                 naloxone nationwide.
                 Poisoning deaths are preventable, and awareness is
                 essential to saving lives. If you believe that you or
                 someone you know may have ingested a toxic substance,
                 call the National Poison Control help line immediately
                 at 800-222-1222 to be connected to a local poison
                 control center. Trained experts are ready to offer
                 real-time help and can often solve a poisoning
                 emergency over the phone. Learn more about their
                 lifesaving services at poisonhelp.hrsa.gov.
                 To encourage Americans to learn more about the dangers
                 of unintentional poisonings and to take appropriate
                 preventive measures, on September 26, 1961, the United
                 States Congress, by joint resolution (75 Stat. 681),
                 authorized and requested the President to issue a
                 proclamation designating the third week of March each
                 year as ``National Poison Prevention Week.''
                 NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
                 the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March
                 17 through March 23, 2024, to be National Poison
                 Prevention Week. I call upon all Americans to observe
                 this week by taking actions to safeguard their families
                 and friends from poisonous products, chemicals, and
                 medicines often found in our homes
                [[Page 19728]]
                 and to raise awareness of these dangers to prevent
                 accidental injuries and deaths.
                 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
                 fifteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two
                 thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
                 United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                 eighth.
                
                
                 (Presidential Sig.)
                [FR Doc. 2024-06024
                Filed 3-19-24; 8:45 am]
                Billing code 3395-F4-P