SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Poison Control Center (UPCC) will join poison centers and poison prevention partners across the country in celebrating National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), March 16-22, 2025. Over 70 years ago, UPCC began this lifesaving work and has handled over 2 million poison cases. UPCC continues to provide free, expert, and confidential poison help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is also dedicated to prevention education. NPPW brings awareness and highlights ways to prevent poisonings from happening in the first place. The theme for this year’s NPPW is “When the unexpected happens, we’re here for you!”
Poisoning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States and in Utah, so it’s important to learn more and take steps to prevent poisonings. The UPCC manages about 40,000 poison cases each year. While just over 50% of exposures in Utah involve children 5 years old or younger, older children, teens, and adults are also at risk of poisoning. The most common poison exposure in Utah for all ages combined, is pain medicine. Most of these are common drugs you can buy over-the-counter without a prescription.
“When the unexpected happens, don’t waste valuable time searching the internet for answers. Pick up the phone and call 1-800-222-1222,” said Amberly Johnson, UPCC Director. “Our dedicated and caring health care team is ready to help anytime, day or night, with treatment advice specifically for the person needing help. And since about 75% of our poison exposures are handled right over the phone without needing to go to the hospital, calling UPCC can also save time and money.”
The poison center provides outreach education to teach people about poison dangers and ways to prevent a poisoning. “Poison prevention is vital to saving lives and keeping people safe. Making poison safety a year-round priority will go a long way in helping to decrease poisonings,” Johnson said. To help prevent poisonings, UPCC offers the following tips:
- Be prepared for a poison emergency. Keep the poison control phone number at your fingertips by saving it in your cell phone. Save the number…someday it may save you back. 1-800-222-1222
- Practice safe storage. Always store medicines, household cleaners, and hazardous products up and away from children. Keep them in their original, child-resistant containers.
- Read and follow directions. Review instructions on prescription and over-the-counter medicine and on all other product labels before using them.
- Dispose of unused or expired medication. Take these medications to a drop-box location to dispose of them safely.
- Detect invisible threats. Have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home.
The UPCC has a variety of poison prevention tools to help keep you and your family safe. Visit the UPCC website utahpoisoncontrol.org to find resources for all ages. Follow #NPPW25 on social media and connect with UPCC on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, X, TikTok and Instagram @utahpoison during NPPW and throughout the year for messages, alerts, and tips.
About the Utah Poison Control Center
The UPCC is a 24-hour resource for poison information, clinical toxicology consultation, and poison prevention education. The UPCC is a program of the State of Utah and is administratively housed in the University of Utah, College of Pharmacy. The UPCC is nationally certified as a regional poison control center.