Preventing deaths from pesticide self-poisoning-learning from Sri Lanka's success

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 800,000 people die by suicide per year, with the majority of these deaths occurring in low and middle income countries (LMIC) (1). During the late 1990s/early 2000s, an estimated 35% of suicides, or 300,000 deaths, were due to intentional pesticide self-poisoning (2). These numbers have since fallen by more than half, as urbanisation in China and pesticide regulation in some Asian countries has reduced the incidence of fatal poisoning (Mew et al, submitted). The WHO now considers pesticide self-poisoning to be one of the three most important means of global suicide (1).