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Public Service Announcement: Follow Directions
Products
and Services
Public
Service Announcement—
Follow the Directions: A Lesson for Life
Discussion
Guide
Follow the Directions: A Lesson for
Life
This links to a short (34-second) public service announcement (PSA) developed
by the Committee on Public Communications of the Society of Toxicology.
The purpose of this PSA is to provide public education regarding the safe
use of household products.
This PSA was designed
to make two major points. First "too much of a good thing can be
harmful." For example, even a relatively safe non-prescription (over-the-counter)
medicine can be harmful if used too often or too much is taken at one
time. Second, any instructions on the container label should be followed
when using a chemical, including medicines, pesticides, fertilizers, or
household cleaning agents.
People of all ages
can learn something from this PSA. Its messages can be expanded for interactive
discussions with K–12 students by eliciting other examples from them
in which "too much of a good thing" causes health problems that
they can relate to. It can also be used to initiate discussions of other
basic principles of toxicology. This PSA also provides excellent opportunities
to introduce related toxicology and other environmental health and safety
issues.
Depending on the class subject and age level, discussions could lead to:
- chemical, microbial
("germ"), and physical hazards in our work, home, and ambient
environments and their different properties.
- what you should
do if you think you or a family member, neighbor or pet may have been
exposed to harmful amounts of a chemical (or microbial) agent.
- how the safety
and efficacy of chemical products are discovered and characterized,
and the role of toxicologists and other scientists and health professionals
in this process.
- whether or not
the designations "synthetic" and. "organic" indicate
anything about effects, toxicity, hazard, or risk and what all of these
terms mean to a toxicologist.
- proper storage
of liquid chemicals (NOT in empty soda bottles or other food containers).
- proper disposal
of chemical products and what can happen in the environment when people
do not handle useful chemical products in a responsible way.
- who regulates drugs
and household products? chemical safety and environmental laws governing
the development, use, and disposal of chemicals.
- what students can
do to help keep our planet healthy and their responsibility to society
(they CAN make a difference).
We
invite you to view this film and consider the many possibilities
for conveying important lessons for life!
Discussion
Guide to Print 
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