ZAMBOANGA CITY–The government-run Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) will focus on advocacy against illegal drugs during this year’s observance of Poison Prevention Week.
Dr. Aeesha Yahcob Pingli, ZCMC poison unit head, said Thursday the advocacy will be conducted until the end of the year although the observance of Poison Prevention Week is from June 18 to 24.
Pingli, who is also a clinical toxicologist at ZCMC, said the advocacy is anchored on the theme, “#Lodi kita… Mga Mag-aaral na Tumatanggi sa Droga”.
“The current administration is focused on (illegal) drugs, we might as well enhance the advocacy,” she said, adding that their campaign will focus on schools educating students on the ill effects of illegal drugs.
Meanwhile, Pingli disclosed that 61 people, 18 of whom were children, were exposed to poison from January to December last year.
Poisoning incidents killed three people in the city last year, she said.
These cases include snake bites, pesticide ingestion, kerosene ingestion, jellyfish and centipede sting, and herbicide ingestion. (R. G. Antonet Go/PNA)
