Comparison of poison control statutes in the United States.

Statutory compilations of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia were searched for laws pertaining to poison control activities, and existing statutes were compared. Poison control statutes exist in 13 states and vary among these states. Provisions of the statutes include statewide poison control center programs, enumerated functions, state funding, health department coordination, advisory committees, university affiliation, joint drug information centers, 24-hour service, toll-free telephone numbers, community education activities, and case-reporting systems. In 1957, a Connecticut law authorized establishment of a poison information center; this was the first state statute. Between 1971 and 1977, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Indiana established statutes. In 1978, the American Association for Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) published criteria for regional poison control centers; after this, states including Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Minnesota, and New Jersey adopted more comprehensive laws. Since publication of the AAPCC criteria, there has been a trend toward regional and more comprehensive poison control center services both in states with poison control statutes and in those without pertinent statutes.