British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre (BC DPIC)

Did you know that...

• The B.C. Poison Control Centre receives over 70 calls each day about someone being poisoned in British Columbia.
• Over half of all poisonings occur in children younger than 6 years of age.
• Every hour at least one child in British Columbia is poisoned.
• Common "poisons" in children include pain and fever medication, plants and cleaners.
• Many poisonings in children occur just before lunch and dinner when children are hungry and often least supervised.
• "Child-proof" caps are not child-PROOF, they are only child-RESISTANT.
• The Poison Control Centre is available 24-hours each day for advice and information.

Poison prevention is a year-round activity; however, the third week of March is recognized as Poison Prevention Week.

"Children Act Fast...So Do Poisons...Call you Poison Control Centre"

The primary goals of this week are increasing community awareness and providing education to prevent unintentional poisonings and to minimize injury by knowing what steps to take if a poisoning occurs.

Please join us in promoting Poison Prevention Week.

Materials available: "Poison Awareness and First Aid" pamphlets are now available in Chinese, English, French, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Other materials available to promote awareness include a "Plant Awareness" pamphlet, a series of informative posters, and phone stickers and magnets with numbers for the B.C. Poison Control Centre's hotline. Materials are free of charge for BC residents and can be obtained from the prevention material webpage, by e-mailing info@dpic.ca, or by calling 604-707-2789, extension 3.

The B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre is a division of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. The Centre offers British Columbians a 24-hour telephone support and advice line, which is staffed by pharmacists and nurses. You can obtain treatment advice on chemical or drug poisonings and overdoses by calling 604-682-5050 or 1-800-567-8911.

Link to Media Release

Link to the Canadian Association of Poison Control Centres (CAPCC) Media Release - English | French