Pick up for Pica
Pick up for Pica
A small group of citizens seeks to alert the public about a new category of hazardous waste.
Winter 1997 ALIVE
by Shelley M. Klein, Ph.D.
The health hazards associated with cigarette smoking have been widely publicized and are well known. However, a small group of concerned citizens, the Taconic DDSO (Developmental Disabilities Services Office) Pica Task Force, is trying desperately to get the word out about a little publicized health danger associated with cigarettes: Pica. Pica is a disorder characterized by persistent craving for, and ingestion of non-nutritive substances. It derives its name from the Latin word for the Magpie, a bird that collects things compulsively and indiscriminately. Pica exists in all segments of the population, but is particularly prevalent among some people with developmental disabilities. The substances most often craved are cigarette butts.
Judith Solomon, the parent of an adult who suffers from Pica, and a member of the Pica Task Force, first became aware of Pica when her son with developmental disabilities was seven years of age. "Gordon was fascinated by the red leaves of a tree in our backyard," she recalls. "He would ingest them." The problem became more serious as Gordon matured.
"Now he has Pica for cigarette butts and this obsession is very frightening. He feels compelled to find these butts at risk of life or limb," says Mrs. Solomon. "He has even run away from a residential placement to find butts outside which smokers carelessly discard. However, in his current placement at Opengate Inc. in Somers, N.Y., an environment which is kept free of cigarette butts, his Pica behavior has diminished tremendously."
The behavioral manifestations of Pica, particularly when the object of this behavior is a cigarette butt, can cause serious medical and nutritional complications for those who engage in it. It also presents substantial behavioral management challenges for caretakers. However for Judith Solomon, the committee, and others who have a loved one with Pica, the problem has taken on a new urgency.
"In the coming years residential developmental centers will be closing," Mrs. Solomon points out. "Many residents will be returning to the community where they will have easy access to carelessly discarded butts. I am concerned not only for my own son, but for all those with Pica. They are all my children," she remarked.
The Taconic DDSO Pica Task Force was formed in June 1993 to heighten public awareness of Pica. This small but dedicated committee has written articles, conducted seminars and contacted local and national legislators to get its message out to the public. Alice Model, a member of the Pica Task Force Committee, has produced a public service videotape about Pica which has been aired on local cable channels. Recently, the committee has begun a campaign designed to encourage business owners to monitor the disposal of cigarette butts, and other debris, in front of their places of business. In addition, the Task Force is lobbying local municipalities and small businesses to install sealed butt receptacles at their facilities in an effort to reduce access to discarded butts.
To obtain further information about Pica, or to participate in the Task Force's awareness efforts, please contact the Pica Task Force at the Taconic DDSO, Wasaic, New York 12592, (914) 8776821 ext. 3563.
Judith Solomon points to a tamper-proof cigarette butt receptacle which was installed at the Taconic Developmental Center.