Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology1816-496x2152-100xAcademic Journals Inc.10.3923/jpt.2007.350.358SharmaB.R. RelhanNidhi GuptaNeha SinghHarshabad 4200724Knowledge of poisons, their clinical manifestations, remedial measures, etc. and the causing of death by poisoning, has been prevalent all over the world since time immemorial. But the present day poisoning scenario is altogether different due to rapid development in the field of science and technology and vast growth in the industrial and agricultural sectors. The ups and downs in the incidence of poisoning have been reported from time to time both in the developed and the developing world. Toxicology became a specialized branch of medicine in early 1950s in the developed countries in response to the proliferation and use of chemicals in every day life. The first Poison Information Center started functioning in America in the mid fifties and by the early eighties there were nearly 400 such centers in USA. Many countries of Europe and Asia Pacific Region have established poison information center facilities. In India, a Toxicology Laboratory was setup at the Medicolegal Institute Bhopal, in 1984, following Bhopal Gas Tragedy. In 1994, National Poison Information Center was setup at All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi followed by the establishment of Poison Information Centers at National Institute of Occupational Health at Ahmedabad and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Sevagram in 1996. However, the spurt in the number of intentional as well as unintentional poisoning and poisoning deaths continues to be a cause for concern.]]>Bajaj, R. and H.S. Wasir,198811820820Bhullar, D.S., S.S. Oberoi, O.P. Aggarwal and H. Tuli,19961358Borna, P., A.M. Ekedahl and L.A. Traskman-Bendz,2001Lund catchment area, Nord.]]>55325328Buckley, N.A., L. Karalliedde, A. Dawson, N. Senanayake and M. Eddleston,200442113116Carlsten, A., M. Waern and P. Allebeck,199934609614CDC Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARSTM).20032003Cole, D., R. McConnell, D.L. Murray and F.P. Anton,198822319322Crowe, M.T.I.,198929124129Eddleston, M., M.H. Sheriff and K. Hawton,1998317133135Eddleston, M.,200093715731Fernando, R.,19909161163Hawton, K. and J. Fagg,199230414091411Hettiarachchi, J. and C.S. Kodithuwakku,19898507510International Labor Organization,19801980Jeyaratnam, J., R.S. De Alwis Senewiratne and J.F. Copplestone,198260616619Jeyaratnam, J., K.C. Lun and W.O. Phoon,198765521527Jeyaratnam, J.,19881988Jeyaratnam, J.,199043139144Kritalugsana, S.,19881988Lall, S.B., S.S. Peshin and S.S. Seth,1994303544Lee, E.C.,2003290659662Malik, G.M., M. Mubarik and G.J. Romshoo,199833810781079Meena, H.S., O.P. Murty, S. Bose, S. Bhatia and T.D. Dogra,1940111930Meredith, T.J. and J.A. Vale,198436174Murray, D.L.,1994Ohberg, A., J. Lonnqvist, S. Sarna, E. Vuori and A. Penttila,19951663543Phillips, M.R., X. Li and Y. Zhang,2002359835840Rogde, S., H.P. Hougen and K. Poulsen,199680211219Sagar, M.S., R.K. Sharma and T.D. Dogra,1993102125Sharma, B.R.,199613712Sharma, B.R., D. Harish and V. Sharma,200119511Sharma, B.R., D. Harish and V. Sharma,200242251257Sharma, B.R. and G. Singh,20038117121Singh, D., I. Dewan, R.K. Vashista and S. Tyagi,1995121620Singh, D.,199920203210Wesseling, C., L. Castillo and C.G. Elinder,199319227235WHO Technical Report Series No. 513,19731973WHO.,19851st Edn.,Pages: 128Pages: 128