472 cases of poisoning were seen over a 2 year period in Kandy, Ceylon. Overall mortality was 23.7%. The pattern of poisoning differed from western countries in that 49.8% of the cases were due to insecticide poisoning & only 10.7% were due to drugs, including barbituates. Of the fatal cases 51.7% were between the ages of 20-40 and only 6.2% were over 50 years. The wastage of economically useful lives indicates the need for a poison centre.