Unintentional Poisoning: Questions and Answers
Unintentional poisoning is second only to motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The poisoning death rate has been rising in recent years and more than doubled between 1999 and 2006. 95% of poisoning deaths are a result of drug poisoning—and more than half of them are due to prescription drugs. CDC’s Injury Center has highlighted a number of resources below—including Q&A, fact sheets, and podcasts—on the topic of unintentional poisoning for you to use and share.
How big of a problem is poisoning?
This is a significant public health problem. Unintended poisoning is second only to motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of unintentional injury in the United States. The most recent national data available that highlight the problem of unintentional poisoning are 2006 data for fatal poisonings and 2007 data for non-fatal emergency department (ED) visits resulting from unintentional poisoning. In 2006, there was an average of about 75 unintentional poison-related deaths each day (a total of 27,531). In 2007, there were almost 700,000 (679,890) ED visits that resulted from unintentional poisoning, averaging nearly 2,000 ED visits a day.
What are CDC and other federal agencies able to do about this?
Addressing this issue requires involvement from multiple agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. CDC is working to quantify the problem and identify high-risk groups and helping to evaluate potential solutions to the problem.
What drugs are most commonly involved in unintentional poisoning?
In 2006, 95% of unintentional poisoning deaths were caused by drugs. Opioid pain medications were most commonly involved, followed by cocaine and heroin. Opioid pain medications and benzodiazepines were used most frequently among those treated in emergency departments for nonfatal poisonings involving intentional, nonmedical use (such as misuse or abuse) of prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
What is CDC’s next step to reduce prescription drug overdoses?
CDC will continue to provide information to regulatory and injury prevention professionals about the overdose risk posed by certain prescription drugs and will continue to evaluate potential solutions to the problem.
Who is most at risk of being poisoned?
Overall, men are more likely to die and be treated in emergency departments as a result of being unintentionally poisoned. Individuals between 40 and 49 are among those most likely to be poisoned.
Does CDC have resources and information about preventing poisoning in children?
Every day, approximately 422 children in the United States ages 0 to 19 are treated in an emergency department and three children die as a result of being poisoned intentionally or unintentionally. CDC’s Injury Center developed the Protect the Ones You Love initiative to help parents protect children from leading causes of injury, such as poisoning. Additional information, including fact sheets, podcasts, and e-cards, is available free online at www.cdc.gov/safechild.
Why is CDC involved in poisoning research?
For well over a decade, CDC’s Injury Center has worked to save lives and reduce the number and severity of unintentional injuries that occur outside of occupational settings. We have seen that the rates of poisoning morbidity and mortality are increasing, and we believe that more attention should be paid to the problem of overdoses due to prescription drugs.
Facts and Tips
Podcasts
