It's natural for young children to taste and chew the things they find ...

®
It’s natural for young children to taste and chew the things they find
around them – but in today’s world this normal behaviour can lead to
them swallowing harmful household chemicals and cleaners. Every year,
thousands of toddlers are rushed to A&E due to suspected poisoning.
Bitrex ® – keeping children safe from harm in the home
Cleaning, automotive, personal care and DIY
products – particularly those with bright colours
and interesting smells – can be fascinating for
young children. While these products often have
child-resistant tops, they can never be 100%
child-proof. Children can learn to open childresistant
tops. And adults must close the tops
fully each time after using them.
This is why Bitrex ® – the most bitter substance
known to human beings – provides an extra line
of defence to help keep young children safe.
Manufacturers add it to many household
products so that if children – who are very
sensitive to bitter tastes – try to drink the
product, they get an instant, horrible taste in
their mouth. And stop drinking.
• the most common cause of poisoning
in the bathroom is young children
drinking toilet cleaner or bleach left by
the side of the toilet
• one in five children under five can
open a child-resistant top
• children of all ages can be poisoned by
drinking products like paint stripper or
screen wash that have been poured
into an old soft drinks bottle
• the fruity smell of products like air
fresheners, shampoos and soap can
tempt young children to taste them
for themselves.
• looking out for products with child-resistant tops –
but remember that child-resistant does not mean
child-proof
• looking out for products that contain a bittering
agent like Bitrex ®
• keeping products like bleach and toilet cleaner in a
locked cupboard or on a high shelf – well out of
children’s reach and sight
• remembering that perfumes, bubble bath and many
soaps and body scrubs can smell delicious to a child
– and keeping them out of young children’s reach
and sight
• storing household chemicals in their original bottles
– never putting them into something a child can
mistake for a soft drink.

®
Competition for parents and carers
WITH BITREX ®
Bitrex ® can be found in many
products in your local shops.
Look out for famous brand names
and the range of supermarket
own-brand products that display
the Bitrex ® logo above.
Enter our wordsearch competition
and find ten familiar products that
may contain Bitrex ® . Clues may be
upside down, back to front or
diagonal (on the slant). Circle the
words in the grid and send it,
together with the form below, to
the address as shown.
The first five correct entries out of
the hat will receive a basket of
pampering goodies.
bubble bath
fly bait
paint stripper
toilet cleaner
shampoo air freshener
moth balls
antifreeze
car wax
perfume
R R H E F E O R H L M R
E E E F I B S A T E E S
P N B N A U U C A N O T
P A E E A B T A E R A S
I E I Z F B A H H X L H
R L A R E L S I A L H A
T C E A T E Y W A S R M
S T R T R B R B P T U P
T E R F R A H F A U A O
N L R E C T U O I I I O
I I E W O H F M R T T P
A O E M U F R E P E N S
P T H E M S P A S S T A
Please print clearly in BLOCK CAPITALS
name
address
postcode
telephone
Send your completed entry in an envelope to:
Bitrex Word Search
Child Accident Prevention Trust
22-26 Farringdon Lane
London EC1R 3AJ
Closing date: Friday 8 September 2006
Winners will be notified by 9 October 2006

Competition for children aged 5 to 13
Bitrex ® has a really nasty taste. It tastes so bitter that you want to screw your mouth up and spit it out! This is
why Bitrex ® is used in things like air fresheners, toilet cleaners and bubble bath. So if a small child mistakes
something harmful – like toilet cleaner – for a nice drink, the horrible taste of Bitrex ® will put them off the
moment they take a sip!
You probably can’t imagine being silly enough to drink toilet cleaner or shampoo! But did you know that lots of
older children and adults make themselves very sick by drinking from bottles that once had something nice in
them like juice – and then find they have drunk something dangerous like car windscreen wash which someone
has poured into an empty bottle?
Remember, never drink from a strange bottle you find lying around. And never keep anything harmful in a bottle
which another person might mistake for a soft drink.
Draw or paint us a picture of yourself pretending to taste something really horrible – like the bitter taste of
Bitrex ® (You might need to look at yourself in a mirror to do this!) The best picture in each age group – 5-7,
8-10, 11-13 – will receive a prize of a £15 voucher.
Please print clearly in BLOCK CAPITALS
name
age
address
telephone
postcode
Send your drawing or painting in an envelope
with this form to:
Bitrex Picture Competition
Child Accident Prevention Trust
22-26 Farringdon Lane
London EC1R 3AJ
Closing date: Friday 8 September 2006
Winners will be notified by 9 October 2006
Child Accident Prevention Trust
is a national charity committed to
reducing the numbers of children
killed, disabled or seriously injured
in accidents. Each year, the charity
organises Child Safety Week to
spread safety messages to parents
and children. To find out more
about keeping children safe, visit
www.capt.org.uk
®
Bitrex ® is the most bitter substance
ever discovered. Children are
particularly sensitive to bitter tastes,
making Bitrex ® a powerful
deterrent to accidental swallowing
of harmful household chemicals.
Bitrex ® is committed to increasing
public awareness about safety in
household chemicals and is a proud
sponsor of Child Safety Week 2006.