National poison hotline 0800 POISON ( 0800 764 766 ) – This is a 24 hour, 7 days a week number.

The National Poisons Centre (NPC), established in 1964, is part of the Dunedin School of Medicine at the University of Otago. It provides a 24-hour, 365-days-a-year free phone service to both health professionals and members of the public. The NPC answers enquiries regarding the acute effects of toxic substances including medicines, chemicals, household products, plants and venomous creatures. Around 25,000 acute poisoning enquiries are answered annually. The National Poisons Centre works towards the reduction of harm in the community from poisonings by way of prevention, education and surveillance programmes. The Centre also has a poison prevention and education website.