Restricting access to dangerous pesticides would prevent more than 120,000 suicides in America in ten years

Restricting access to highly dangerous pesticides and firearms could prevent more than 120,000 suicide deaths in the Americas over a ten-year period, according to a new study. investigationcarried out by experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) of Canada.

The data, published in the medical journal The Lancet Regional Healthsuggest that if these restrictions had been applied from 2020, the mortality rate could be reduced by more than 20% among men and 11% among women by 2030.

The most notable reductions would be seen in the non-Latin Caribbean, where the suicide mortality rate could be reduced by up to 31% among men and 34% among women with a specific restriction on highly hazardous pesticides in three key countries: Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

100,000 lives a year

Nearly 100,000 lives are lost annually to suicide in the Americas and, unlike other regions of the world, World Health Organization (WHO), the suicide mortality rate has increased in recent years.

In El Salvador, Guyana, Nicaragua and Suriname, the ingestion of highly hazardous pesticides caused 40% or more of suicides in each country in 2019. While in the United States, firearms accounted for more than 40% of suicide deaths in the same year.

Preventable deaths

The director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health of PAHO and co-author of the study noted that “suicide is preventable and every life lost is devastating.”

Anselm Hennis added that the study shows that “effective policies” that limit access to two of the most common methods of suicide “can have an impact on reducing mortality in the region.”

In this regard, the head of the Mental Health and Substance Use Unit of PAHO and another researcher, Dr. Renato Oliveira e Souza, stated that the implementation of restriction measures is more effective when the methods are “prevalent and represent a significant proportion of suicide deaths.”

“However, It is also crucial to consider the sociocultural context by implementing media restriction policies,” Oliveira added.

Means restriction is an effective evidence-based intervention for suicide prevention, and a key strategy recommended by WHO under its “LIVE THE LIFE” to reduce suicide mortality.