50 years of Tox Info Switzerland

In 1966, 50 years ago, the then Pharmacists' Association laid the foundation for Tox Info Suisse. In the beginning, the forensic doctors of the University of Zurich and the then Intercantonal Poison Commission were also on board. In 2015, the telephone advice center on poisoning with the emergency number 145 answered around 38,400 inquiries from lay people and experts. In the 1960s, 15,000 index cards, more than 10,000 literature excerpts and a punch card system served as diagnostic aids for the doctors to answer the inquiries. Today, the toxicology-trained experts at Tox Info Suisse work with an extensive electronic database that gives them access to information on all kinds of poisonings.

Over 100 requests per day
With an average of over 100 queries per day, or around 38,400 in 2015, good data availability is essential. In 1966, the number of inquiries was still around 2000. The need for expertise on poisonings and the increasing awareness make the numbers every year
grow.

Whereas in 1966, 74 % of the calls came from private and hospital physicians and 16 % from laypersons, today this ratio has practically reversed: in about two thirds of the cases (66 %), affected persons and relatives are advised directly, and in one quarter of the cases (28.5 %), medical professionals ask for information on poisoning. Tox Info Suisse is now well established among the public. The emergency number 145 for poisoning is listed on practically all lists of emergency numbers for the police, fire department or ambulance.

Private initiative
The initiative to found Tox Info Suisse came from the private sector. As a result, poison counseling is still organized as a private foundation in Switzerland today. In other countries, this task is affiliated with clinics, ministries and laboratories. The non-profit foundation with the original name "Toxicological Information Center of the Swiss. Apothekerverein" was entered in the foundation register by the Swiss Pharmacists Association (SAV) - today pharmaSuisse - on August 11, 1965. The official opening of the Toxicological Information Center took place on May 25, 1966 in Zurich. Already on March 30, 1966, the 24-hour operation was started.

The Forensic Medical Institute of the University of Zurich (GMIZ) was also actively involved in its establishment. In 1967, the Swiss Society of Chemical Industries (SGCI, today scienceindustries) became a co-founder and participated on a parity basis. From the beginning
also the Intercantonal Poison Commission and the hospitals to set up the documentation.
Today, the sponsors are pharmaSuisse, scienceindustries, santésuisse, SUVA and FMH. Service agreements exist with the cantons, the Federal Office of Public Health, swissmedic and H+. The financing model of the Tox Info Suisse Foundation has a unique character, in that all involved
Healthcare beneficiaries contribute to operations.
Tox Info Suisse has also been a legally and financially independent Associated Institute of the University of Zurich (Faculty of Medicine) since 2011. "The scientific activities are an indispensable prerequisite for professional credibility, academic reputation and quality assurance, as well as an important component of continuing medical education," Elisabeth Anderegg-Wirth, president of Tox Info Suisse since 2012, is convinced.

The world will not become toxin-free
Tox Info Suisse sees itself continuing to have an important function as an information hub and advice center on all aspects of poisons and poisoning. The standards in environment and food quality in Switzerland are higher today than ever before. However, progress is being jeopardized by increasing globalization, with problems being imported via the environment and food. The flood of data is growing rapidly and must be well organized, and the growing legal requirements must be implemented.

Make emergency number 145 even better known
In preparation for the next 50 years, the Swiss Toxicological Information Center has renamed itself Tox Info Suisse and redesigned its website. "We want to anchor the emergency number 145 even better in the population and among professionals," explains President Elisabeth Anderegg-Wirth. The special postage stamp issued by Swiss Post to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tox will contribute to this, she adds. It will be available at all post offices and also via postshop.ch from March 3, 2016.

New communication channels and technologies are also being used: The Tox Info app, developed in 2015 together with the Federal Office of Public Health, simplifies contact and exchange about the cause of poisoning in an emergency. As with many non-profit organizations, funding is a key issue: "We are constantly working on broadening the foundation's financial base so that we can continue to offer the emergency number free of charge around the clock in the future and competently answer the increasing requests for advice.
can," says Elisabeth Anderegg-Wirth.

www.toxinfo.ch