• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 13, 2010

California Poison Control System (CPCS) has launched a social media campaign to try and educate both English and Spanish speaking families about poison. CPCS's game challenges moms and dads, as well as grandparents, to decide what are look-alike pills versus candy.

As seen by playing the game, it's easy to mistake the candy for the real pill. CPCS invites people to sign up as Facebook Fans at California Poison Control System and challenge themselves with quizzes about poison plants, batteries, chipped paint and other dangers that lurk in kitchen cabinets. Twitter users can find tips @poisoninfo.

Aside from Twitter updates and Facebook quizzes, the social media campaign includes free text messages. Tips, news and information about poisoning are designed to save lives and prevent injury. The CPCS says poisoning is the second leading cause of childhood injury in the U.S. leading to more than four million poisonings each year.

Texting the word "TIPS" or "PUNTOS" (for Spanish) to 69866 sends an important weekly tip to cell phones, such as "Chemicals can burn. Never use toilet bowl cleaners, drain openers, rust removers and oven cleaners when kids are around."