RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
June 21, 1999
POISON THREAT TO THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN
CHILD SAFETY WEEK JUNE 21-27
About 33,000 under fives go to hospital every year to be treated for poisoning or suspected poisoning, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents warned today.
Medicines, cleaning products, alcohol, perfumes, mouthwashes and aftershave are all potential killers in the home, RoSPA said as Child Safety Week began.
Sarah Colles, the Society’s Home Safety Adviser, urged parents to turn their homes into safety action zones to remove the poisons menace.
Already this year, coroners have been told of an 11 month-old girl who died after sipping white spirit and a two year-old who drank sulphuric acid.
In the one case, what her mother thought to be a childproof cap was removed, and in the other, the acid had been stored in a pop bottle.
"This shows the need to store any dangerous substances out of sight and out of the reach of children - preferably in a locked cabinet or cupboard," Sarah Colles said. "Children are curious and like to experiment with taste.
"Kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, garages and sheds are all likely to have things in them which could poison a child. Dangerous substances should always be stored in their original container and never decanted into another.
"Grandparents also need to be aware of the danger when young relatives visit them."
David Jenkins, RoSPA Product Safety Adviser, said: "Parents must remember that caps on dangerous substances may be child resistant, but NOT child proof. They are only a temporary barrier - many children will be able to gain access to what is inside. At present, some adults complain that they cannot open child resistant closures and then create additional risks by decanting dangerous substances into containers which children can open."
