It might surprise you that the leading cause of poisoning in the US is from drugs.
The picture one commonly gets when one thinks of "poisoning" is of a small child that has gotten into something from under the kitchen sink, and a call made to the poison center to find out what to do.
The reality is a little different.
In 2008, poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in the United States and nearly 9 out of 10 poisoning deaths are caused by drugs.
More Poisoning Drug Deaths than Automotive Deaths In 2008, there were more than 41,000 poisoning deaths, compared with about 38,000 motor vehicle traffic deaths.
Of the poisoning deaths, more than 40% involved opioid type drugs, meaning drugs like heroin, Oxy Contin, methadone, morphine, etc.
This is according to the CDC: Drug Poisoning Deaths in the United States, 1980-2008 report.
That's a good question to ask people: Do more people die in motor vehicle accidents, or from drug poisoning? They will probably be surprised! Are Drugs Poison It might also surprise you that drugs, some of which may have beneficial qualities, are also considered to be poisons.
This has been expressed by many people, from doctors, to drug treatment programs.
One website states that there really are no precise definition of the word "drug".
Here's a good definition, though: "Drugs are basically toxins, or more simply, poisons.
The amount that you take controls how the drug affects you...
A large amount acts as a poison, and can kill you.
" This definition is from the booklet: "10 Things Your Friends May Not Know About Drugs", published by Narconon, a non-profit drug rehabilitation program dedicated to eliminating drug abuse and drug addiction through drug rehab, drug information and drug education.
The Need for Drug Education This kind of gives you a different perspective on drugs: Poison! This is useful information in teaching drug prevention to kids.
"Yes, kids, some drugs can be good for you, and others are just plain bad, but all of them will kill you if you take too much!" That's a powerful message.
And it's the truth! Ever here of "alcohol poisoning"? It's the same thing: too much alcohol can also kill you.
Education is really the key.
If you can give younger kids a good grounding in drug education, they may be less likely to begin abusing drugs.
Some people may say that it's best to keep any information about drugs away from young kids.
The problem with that approach is that when un-informed kids do first encounter drugs, it's probably from their friends and schoolmates, and of course, they won't lie or mislead your children, will they? The Information Young People Need Kids these days have many more sources of information than their parents may be aware of.
There are websites that actively promote ideas that may not be in our children's best interests.
With all of these sources of possibly contradictory information available to kids, it really is in our best interests to get our kids the truth about drugs, and at an early age.
Consider it to be like a vaccination - a vaccination against drug abuse and addiction.
It has been said that "telling the truth" has sometimes been a crime, in some times and places.
But our kids need to be told the truth about drugs, for their protection.
It has been said that drug abuse and addiction are at epidemic levels.
People are poisoning themselves with drugs.
More people die from drug deaths (poisoning) than from vehicle accidents, and this is a completely reversible statistic.
Let's get our kids educated, and keep more kids drug-free, and alive.
The picture one commonly gets when one thinks of "poisoning" is of a small child that has gotten into something from under the kitchen sink, and a call made to the poison center to find out what to do.
The reality is a little different.
In 2008, poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in the United States and nearly 9 out of 10 poisoning deaths are caused by drugs.
More Poisoning Drug Deaths than Automotive Deaths In 2008, there were more than 41,000 poisoning deaths, compared with about 38,000 motor vehicle traffic deaths.
Of the poisoning deaths, more than 40% involved opioid type drugs, meaning drugs like heroin, Oxy Contin, methadone, morphine, etc.
This is according to the CDC: Drug Poisoning Deaths in the United States, 1980-2008 report.
That's a good question to ask people: Do more people die in motor vehicle accidents, or from drug poisoning? They will probably be surprised! Are Drugs Poison It might also surprise you that drugs, some of which may have beneficial qualities, are also considered to be poisons.
This has been expressed by many people, from doctors, to drug treatment programs.
One website states that there really are no precise definition of the word "drug".
Here's a good definition, though: "Drugs are basically toxins, or more simply, poisons.
The amount that you take controls how the drug affects you...
A large amount acts as a poison, and can kill you.
" This definition is from the booklet: "10 Things Your Friends May Not Know About Drugs", published by Narconon, a non-profit drug rehabilitation program dedicated to eliminating drug abuse and drug addiction through drug rehab, drug information and drug education.
The Need for Drug Education This kind of gives you a different perspective on drugs: Poison! This is useful information in teaching drug prevention to kids.
"Yes, kids, some drugs can be good for you, and others are just plain bad, but all of them will kill you if you take too much!" That's a powerful message.
And it's the truth! Ever here of "alcohol poisoning"? It's the same thing: too much alcohol can also kill you.
Education is really the key.
If you can give younger kids a good grounding in drug education, they may be less likely to begin abusing drugs.
Some people may say that it's best to keep any information about drugs away from young kids.
The problem with that approach is that when un-informed kids do first encounter drugs, it's probably from their friends and schoolmates, and of course, they won't lie or mislead your children, will they? The Information Young People Need Kids these days have many more sources of information than their parents may be aware of.
There are websites that actively promote ideas that may not be in our children's best interests.
With all of these sources of possibly contradictory information available to kids, it really is in our best interests to get our kids the truth about drugs, and at an early age.
Consider it to be like a vaccination - a vaccination against drug abuse and addiction.
It has been said that "telling the truth" has sometimes been a crime, in some times and places.
But our kids need to be told the truth about drugs, for their protection.
It has been said that drug abuse and addiction are at epidemic levels.
People are poisoning themselves with drugs.
More people die from drug deaths (poisoning) than from vehicle accidents, and this is a completely reversible statistic.
Let's get our kids educated, and keep more kids drug-free, and alive.