This bill supports recognizing November 2025 as Carbon Monoxide Action and Awareness Month to promote nationwide education and prevention efforts against carbon monoxide poisoning.
Jimmy Patronis
Representative
FL-1
This bill supports the designation of November 2025 as "Carbon Monoxide Action and Awareness Month." It aims to promote nationwide education, prevention, and detection efforts to protect families from deadly, invisible carbon monoxide poisoning. The legislation highlights the significant health risks and economic costs associated with CO exposure, emphasizing the importance of certified alarms and public awareness. It encourages citizens and agencies to take proactive steps to prevent poisonings in homes.
Resolution Backs November 2025 Carbon Monoxide Awareness Push: Highlights $1.3B Annual Cost of Poisoning
This resolution is straightforward: it supports recognizing November 2025 as “Carbon Monoxide Action and Awareness Month.” While resolutions often feel like symbolic gestures, this one lays out some heavy facts about why this push is necessary, framing it as a serious public health and economic issue.
The Silent Killer’s Price Tag
Before getting to the awareness month, the bill establishes findings that really put the problem into perspective. Carbon monoxide (CO) is often called the silent killer because it’s invisible and odorless, but the impact is anything but silent. Annually, CO poisoning results in over 400 unintentional deaths, 14,000 hospitalizations, and an economic burden exceeding $1.3 billion in lost productivity and healthcare costs. Think about that number—$1.3 billion is what we’re collectively spending every year because this preventable hazard is still so common.
The Home Safety Gap
For many of us, the risk feels abstract until you realize that about 76% of these poisoning cases happen right inside our homes. Even more concerning is the fact that an estimated 36% of U.S. adults—that’s over 86 million people—don’t have a certified CO alarm installed. This is the core problem the resolution is trying to address: a massive safety gap in residential settings. The text specifically emphasizes using detectors that have been tested and certified by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (like those meeting UL standards) because, frankly, when it comes to a deadly gas, you want the real deal, not a cheap knock-off.
What the Awareness Month Will Do
The resolution isn’t just a calendar entry; it’s a call to action. By designating November 2025, it aims to focus national attention on prevention efforts. It encourages federal, state, and local agencies—plus first responders and public health groups—to work together on awareness campaigns. For everyday people, the message is clear: install and maintain certified CO alarms, test them regularly, and learn the signs of poisoning. This is particularly crucial for parents, the elderly, and those living in areas prone to power outages (like after a hurricane), where people often improperly use gasoline-powered generators, leading to spikes in CO cases.
In short, this resolution confirms that simple steps—like buying a certified detector and changing the batteries—are proven, cost-effective ways to save lives and reduce a $1.3 billion drain on our economy. It’s a policy move grounded in solid facts and focused on making our homes safer.