National Poison Prevention Week, 1995

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Part XIII

The President

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Proclamation 6770--National Poison Prevention Week

1995 / Presidential Documents

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Title 3--
The President
Proclamation 6770 of February 15, 1995

National Poison Prevention Week, 1995

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Children are the future of our country, and protecting
them is America's most sacred responsibility. All of
us--government leaders, citizens, parents--are bound to
do whatever we can to keep them safe and healthy.
Simple safety measures--such as using child-resistant
packaging correctly, locking cupboards, keeping
prescriptions and cleaning supplies out of the reach of
a child's hands--all can protect our most precious
resource from the dangers of poison and other hazardous
substances.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has
made great progress in safeguarding our young people by
mandating child-resistant packaging for medicine and
dangerous chemicals. And the invaluable work of the
Nation's poison control centers has saved countless
lives, both young and old. These public health efforts
have reduced childhood poisoning deaths from 450 in
1961 to 62 in 1991.

However, according to the American Association of
Poison Control Centers, nearly 1 million children each
year are exposed to potentially poisonous medicines and
household chemicals. Every year we lose children to
poisoning--and almost all of these poisonings are
preventable. This week--and every week--we must
rededicate ourselves to informing everyone of the
importance of prevention and to educating all
caregivers about ways to prevent childhood poisonings.

To encourage the American people to learn more about
the dangers of accidental poisonings and to take more
preventive measures, the Congress, by Public Law 87-319
(75 Stat. 681), has authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation designating the third
week of March of each year as ``National Poison
Prevention Week.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week
beginning March 19, 1995, as National Poison Prevention
Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week by
participating in appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and nineteenth.