The mission of PCDIU is to prevent and minimize adverse health effects from exposure to poisons through education, service, and research. Another avenue is to provide drug information to health care professionals.

The major objectives of the PCDIU are:

• Provision of information and advice:

The main function of a poison control and drug information unit is to provide information and advice concerning the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of poisoning, as well as about the toxicity of chemicals and the risks they pose. Access to the information service is normally by telephone, especially in an emergency, but there are several other communication channels, including computer networks, written responses to enquiries, and publications.

• Patient management

The unit provides appropriate up-to-date information, and advice on the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning cases.The poison control and drug information unit is closely connected with facilities that provide care for poisoned patients and for the medical staff to be involved in the treatment of poisoning. This close association between poison information services and poison treatment services facilitates the necessary updating and expansion of information on the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning cases, encourages detailed follow-up of patients, and stimulates essential research on human toxicology and patient management.

• Toxicovigilance

Toxicovigilance is an essential function of our poison control and drug information unit. It is the active process of identifying and evaluating the toxic risks existing in a community, and evaluating the measures taken to reduce or eliminate them. Analysis of enquiries received by centre permits the identification of those circumstances, populations, and possible toxic agents most likely to be involved, as well as the detection of hidden dangers. The role of a unit in toxicovigilance is to alert the appropriate health and other authorities so that the necessary preventive and regulatory measures may be taken.

• Prevention:

Poison control and drug information unit can contribute to the prevention of poisoning by:

• Alerting responsible authorities to circumstances where the risk of poisoning is high.
• Encouraging manufacturers to employ less toxic formulations and to improve the packaging and labeling of their products.
• Informing the general public, as well as special groups at risk, about recognized or emerging risks to the community posed by the use, transport, storage, and disposal of specific chemicals and natural toxins, and giving guidance on how to avoid exposure to, or accidents with, these substances; means such as brochures, leaflets, posters, educational programmes, and campaigns in the media may be employed.
• Giving special warnings to professional health care workers concerning specific toxic risks.

•  Drug information and pharmacovigilance

Poison control and drug information unit is automatically concerned with problems of adverse drug reactions and side-effects, and may be contacted by physicians and the public for advice on both drug overdoses and the adverse effects of therapeutic doses. Enquiries may also relate to contraindications, for instance whether a drug should be prescribed in pregnancy or to a patient with a history of hepatic or renal disease.Poison control and drug information unit contributes to pharmacovigilance in collaboration with other institutions established for that purpose.

• Substances of abuse

It is part of the task of a poison control and drug information unit to provide information relating to substances of abuse and, when necessary, to be able to refer enquiries or patients to institutions or authorities dealing with other aspects of substance abuse.

The Centre knows how to recognize the signs and symptoms of substance abuse, how to treat an overdose in an emergency, and how to deal with withdrawal syndromes.
The unit gives advice for the families and friends of substance abusers on how to identify signs of intoxication and the substances involved.

• Environmental toxicology

There is growing anxiety among the general public about the possible deleterious effects on health of toxic chemicals found in food, in consumer goods such as cosmetics, and in the environment (air, water, and soil). Poison control and drug information unit provide information on the effects of environmental contaminants, on the risks associated with toxic wastes, and on safe levels of chemicals in the environment and in food and other consumer goods.
Poison control and drug information unit play an important role in quantifying the relationship between exposure to toxic chemicals and observed clinical features of poisoning, including long-term effects.

• Contingency planning for chemical incidents and disasters

Poison control and drug information unit can contribute to the handling of major chemical incidents and disasters by providing appropriate information in the event of an emergency and by taking an active part in contingency planning and in education and training.

• Cooperation and interrelationships

To provide an effective information service and help in the prevention and management of the deleterious effects of toxic chemicals on human health and the environment, Poison control and drug information unit cooperate closely with a wide range of partners.
Cooperation must also be established with industrial and commercial enterprises that manufacture, import, or handle chemicals, various research institutions, and consumer organizations and trade unions.
Contacts of Poison control and drug information unit are needed with ministries of health and the full range of health services and institutions, including different hospital departments, general practitioners, paediatricians, pharmacists, coroners and medico-legal experts, occupational physicians, epidemiologists, experts in information technology, scientific societies, and local and central health authorities. It is also important for poison information units to cooperate with other government bodies, such as ministries of agriculture, the environment, labour, industry, trade, and transport, and with consumer protection agencies.
Good relationships with newspapers, radio, and television are valuable, since the media have a key role in bringing information to the public.

• Research and education and training in the prevention and treatment of poisoning.