Challenge and promise: the future of poison control services.

Poisonings and toxic exposures worldwide account for tremendous suffering and unnecessary deaths. Poison control centers are well positioned to provide specialized services to both the public and health professionals alike so as to ease this public health burden. Future challenges for poison control centers include: the mobilization of adequate financial and infrastructural resources to initiate, stabilize and/or expand their services, provision of training for the next cadre of toxicologists; pursuit of needed research in toxicology; and the collection, analysis, and harmonization of data pertaining to their population.