Proclamation 4486—National Poison Prevention Week, 1977

As parents and teachers, we encourage our children to be curious and inquisitive. But a child's curiosity can sometimes bring tragedy. Most American homes contain potential poisons--polishes, cleaners, medicines, solvents, and pesticides. When children can find these substances, they naturally experiment with them.

Over the past sixteen years, the number of children under the age of five who have died from accidental poisoning has declined by 68 per cent. New and safer packages for dangerous products are a major reason for this decline. But our children's inclination to explore the unknown may still lead them into dangers that no safety measures can control.

To encourage the American people to remember the dangers of accidental poisoning and to take appropriate preventive measures, the Congress, by joint resolution of September 26, 1961 (36 U.S.C. 165), has requested the President to issue annually a proclamation designating the third week in March as National Poison Prevention Week.

Now, Therefore, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning March 20, 1977, as National Poison Prevention Week. I urge all Americans and all agencies and organizations concerned with the prevention of accidental poisonings and the welfare of our Nation's youngsters to join in activities designed to encourage the safe storage, use and handling of poisonous household substances.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and first.

JIMMY CARTER