Poisoning

Medicine Cabinet

Poisoning is the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury death in the WHO European Region. Each year 3,000 young children aged 0 to 14 die of acute poisoning. Children 5 years and under account for the majority of all poison exposures with children up to two years old especially vulnerable. More than 90% of all poisonings occur within the home environment and many common household products can poison children, including cleaning supplies, alcohol, plants, pesticides, medicines, and cosmetics. Cigarettes and tobacco can also cause sickness if eaten and should be kept well out of the reach of young children.

For more facts on poisoning, see our factsheets below.

Current EU national level policy on poisoning

Further charts are available in the Child Safety Report Card 2012: Europe Summary for 31 Countries (PDF 9mb).

Poisonings Graph Poisonings Map

Good practices for prevention: proven effective prevention measures

This chart is taken from the Child Safety Good Practice Guide.

Poisonings Chart

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