Can you tell the difference between medicine & candy? Most kids can't



SEATTLE -- Halloween is just around the corner and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Up and Away campaign are issuing a warning to parents and grandparents. Put away the pills.

60,000 kids each year have to go to the ER because they’ve taken a prescription that was within easy reach.

Arti Patel, a certified health education specialist with Washington Poison Control, says Halloween candy increases that risk.

"To kids, medicine and candy look really really similar," she explains.

Adding sometimes parents refer to medicine as candy to get a child to take medicine, which adds to the confusion.

"Here at the poison center most people think that we get calls about children drinking bleach," Patel says. "But actually, 50 percent of our calls regard medications."

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association Educational Foundation has created an infographic for parents to see how some medicines can look like candy to someone who doesn’t know the difference and doesn’t understand the consequences of taking a medicine not meant for them.



They have produced a video as well, all to make it easy for parents to understand what might look enticing to a child.