WHO mulls pesticide ban to control suicides

MANILA, Philippines — The World Health Organization (WHO) is mulling a pesticide ban to control the rising prevalence of suicides, saying its regulation is a highly effective strategy.

“The intervention that has the most imminent potential to bring down the number of suicides is restricting access to pesticides that are used for self-poisoning,” it noted.

WHO said the high toxicity of many pesticides means suicide attempts often lead to death, particularly in situations where there is no antidote or where there are no medical facilities nearby.

In a publication entitled, “Preventing suicide: A resource for pesticide registrars and regulators,” WHO said there is a growing evidence indicating that regulations to prohibit the use of highly hazardous pesticides can lead to reductions in national suicide rates. 

 It added that although the number of countries with national suicide prevention strategies has increased in the last five years, only a few governments are committed to its implementation.

“Despite progress, one person still dies every 40 seconds from suicide,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “Every death is a tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. Yet suicides are preventable. We call on all countries to incorporate proven suicide prevention strategies into national health and education programs in a sustainable way.”

Based on WHO data, suicide rate is highest in high-income countries and now the second leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 years.

The most common methods of suicide are hanging, pesticide self-poisoning and firearms.

WHO said key interventions that have shown success in reducing suicides are restricting access to means, educating the media on responsible reporting of suicide and implementing programs among young people to build life skills that enable them to cope with life stresses.