Citation

Woolf A, Litovitz TL. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2005; 159(6): 593-595.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/archpedi.159.6.593

PMID

15939862

Abstract

The Poison Prevention Packaging Act, enacted in the United States in 1972 and phased in over the following 6 years, ushered in a new era of poisoning prevention. An enlightened piece of legislation, it combined the 3 tenets of prevention, regulation, technology, and education, to effect reductions in both mortality and morbidity from regulated products such as aspirin. Modifications of the packaging of drugs and household products have continued over the 30 years since it was adopted, with the twin goals of improving drug and product safety for children without interfering with their convenience or use by consumers. Yet the inherent hazard of prenatal iron formulations (and other adult-intended iron formulations) has continued to be a problem for young children who can get into the pills, swallow a goodly number of them, and subsequently experience a serious, and in some cases life-threatening, poisoning as a result.