sions.

The majority of these do not have fatal results, but the resource
implications for health services are considerable. Deaths due to poisoning
have been recorded throughout history: notable cases being Socrates
(hemlock, 399 BC) and Cleopatra (traditionally attributed to the bite of
an asp, although the actual poison remains unknown, 30 BC). Napoleon’s
death has been attributed to arsenic poisoning, but the offi cial cause of
death (stomach cancer) is more prosaic. More recently, important examples
include accidental poisonings such as the Bhopal (methyl isocyanate,
1984) and the (non-fatal) Seveso (dioxin, 1976) disasters