Every year, thousands of children under the age of five are the victims of accidental poisonings that typically occur at home when a curious child has a quick, sometimes fatal, encounter with a common household product, such as aspirin or drain cleaner.

To help teach families about these potential hazards, the one-year-old California Poison Control System (CPCS), administered by the UCSF School of Pharmacy, is sponsoring its first statewide poster contest for children of all ages.

"Our poster contest is a great way to educate children and parents about the importance of poison prevention safety," said Stuart E. Heard, PharmD, executive director of the CPCS. "Our mission is to reduce the frequency of accidental poisonings by providing poison prevention education, such as this contest."

More than 2,000 pharmacies across the state are participating in the contest, which will award gift certificates of up to $200 to nine prize winners.

Contestants are encouraged to submit bold and bright posters to illustrate the theme, "Children Act Fast, So Do Poisons." Artwork should be designed on 11-by-17-inch or 12-by-18-inch white poster paper, using watercolor, acrylic or crayon. All entries must be received by the CPCS by Monday, Feb. 23.

Contest awards will be made in three age categories: five to 11 years; 12 to 14 years; and 15 to 18 years. A panel of judges will select three winners in each category, awarding first-, second- and third-place prizes of $200, $100 and $50, respectively. The winners will be announced the week of March 15-21, which is National Poison Prevention Week. All of the winning posters will be submitted to the 1999 National Poison Prevention Week poster contest.

Children can obtain copies of the contest rules and guidelines from one of their local participating pharmacies. Pharmacy chains involved in the contest are: Rite Aid (Thrifty/Payless Drug Stores); American Stores Co. (Sav-on in Lucky's and the Sav-on stores); Longs Drug Stores, Inc.; Costco; Safeway, Inc. (Vons Food and Drug); Walgreen Co; Savemart Stores; Leader Pharmacies; Raley's; Valco Drugs; and Walmart Pharmacies. For additional information on the contest, call the California Poison Control System Education Information Line at 1-800-582-3387.

The CPCS began operation last year under the administration of the UCSF School of Pharmacy and serves all 33 million residents of California. Its toll-free hotline operates 24 hours a day with highly trained experts, including pharmacists, nurses and other health care providers, offering prompt advice over the phone for suspected poisonings. Callers can obtain advice in more than 100 languages.
In 1997, the system received more than 322,000 calls involving poisoning emergencies. More than 51 percent of these calls involved children under the age of five. Recent studies have shown that 78 percent of all accidental poisonings can be handled at home, avoiding the inconvenience and expense of a visit to a hospital emergency room. It is estimated that the system saves the state millions of dollars a year in hospital and emergency treatment costs.

The number to call in the event of a poison emergency is 1-800-876-4766 (1-800-8-POISON). The TTY (for hearing and speech-impaired) is 1-800-972-3323.

By Alice Trinkl

1st appeared 1/23/98

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