What does this number represent?

$26 billion
It's what poisonings cost the United States in 2000 in medical expenses. Here are a few other poisoning statistics for you:

75% of the total costs of poisoning injuries ($19 billion) were incurred by males

703,702 emergency department visits in 2006 were due to unintentional poisonings

23,618 people died in 2005 by way of unintentional poisoning (second only to motor vehicle crashes as a cause of unintentional injury death that same year)

2 million unintentional poisoning or poison exposure cases were reported at poison control centers in 2006.

To prevent poisonings in your home, here are some tips offered by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):

1. When giving or taking medicines, make sure you:

2. Keep medicines in their original bottles or containers.

3. Monitor the use of any medicines prescribed for children and teenagers, including medicines for attention deficit disorder (ADD).

4. Keep medications in a safe place where they can only be reached by people who take or give them.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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