Chapter 32 - Serbia, Republic of

Abstract

The earliest regulation concerning the handling of poisons in Serbia dates back to 1837, followed closely by the “Law for pharmacies and pharmacists: drugs and poisons storage and sale” in 1865. Eminent Serbian scientists were educated abroad at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, but formal toxicological education began in 1946 with the founding of the Institute of Toxicology (today Department of Toxicology “Akademik Danilo Soldatović”) at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. The Department of Toxicology “Akademik Danilo Soldatović” at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Pharmacy has the longest tradition of almost 80 years and is still the main center for education and training in toxicology and health risk assessment. Another important milestone in the development of toxicology in this region was the establishment of the Yugoslav Society of Toxicology in 1969, and after Yugoslavia split up in 1991 the Serbian Society of Toxicology, registered in 2010, continued to organize congresses every 4 years and joined EUROTOX (Federation of European Toxicologists and European Societies of Toxicology) and IUTOX (International Union of Toxicology). Furthermore, this chapter introduces the reader to the history of toxicology in the Republic of Serbia, the beginnings and current status of toxicological education in our country, universities and faculties teaching toxicology, and provides a list of other resources such as books, journals, relevant national legislation, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, databases, centers, institutes, and institutions dealing with poisoning and its prevention.