It concludes that -
There was a decline in rates of shooting, gassing, poisoning and drowning in males and a decline in shooting, gassing, jumping from a height and drowning among females, but an increase in hanging by both males and females in the decade 1998–2007 when the compared to 1988–1997. There was significant variation in the rates of and trends in methods of suicide between the states and territories of Australia between 1988–1997 and 1998–2007.The report does not substantiate hyperbole that "the internet" is leading to increased suicide - whether through greater anomie that induces people to exit from the Darwin Hotel, as one wag put it, by "jumping from a height" or through greater exposure to information about means of achieving a quietus.
Conclusions:
The decline in rates of suicide in most parts of Australia coincides with a reduction in the availability of lethal methods. Consideration should be given to further measures to limit the availability of lethal methods of suicide.
The authors note data that -
suggests that as few as one in 40 suicide attempts results in a fatality. However, a recent Australian study estimated that 12% of patients arriving at a hospital after a suicide attempt died, and there is wide variation in the lethality of methods used. For example, the estimated mortality from self-shooting is 90%, from attempted hanging is 83% and from jumping from a height is 60%, whereas fewer than 3% of suicide attempts by self-poisoning or by sharp implement result in death.They go on to report that -
In 1988, the national male suicide rate per 100 000 males per annum was 21.0. The most common methods were shooting (5.93), hanging (5.14), gassing (4.43) and poisoning (2.56). Less common methods were jumping from a height (0.84), drowning (0.43) and suicide by sharp implement (0.43). Other methods, including electrocution, immolation and jumping in front of moving vehicles, accounted for a total of less than 1.17 per 100 000 per annum.What's to be done? The article notes that -
In the following 10 years, there was a trend towards an increase in suicide by males, to a peak in 1998 when the national suicide rate was 28.3 per 100 000. This peak was associated with a near doubling of the rate of hanging, and occurred despite a 60% fall in firearm suicides between 1988 and 1998. Between 1998 and 2007, there were declines in suicides by hanging (by 29%), gassing (by 69%), shooting (by 34%), jumping (by 29%), use of sharp implements (by 25%) and drowning (by 46%). By 2007, the total male suicide rate had fallen to 13.9 per 100 000 per annum, a decline of 51% in 10 years. Suicides by methods other than hanging, shooting, gassing, poisoning, jumping, drowning or sharp implement declined as a proportion of suicides and, by 2007, accounted for 2.7% of suicides.
we found evidence of a modest but statistically significant decline of 8% in the pooled estimate of male suicide in Australia over the past 20 years, indicated by a rate ratio of 0.92 between the two decades. Despite the fall in national rates of suicide among males, there was a significant increase in suicides among males in the NT. Meta-analysis did not show a significant decline in female suicide in Australia, despite significant falls in female suicide in NSW and Qld.It might be explained by regulation; removal of the cliffs and high buildings is not feasible, so 'media restraint' might be useful.
Considered nationally, the falls in male suicide were due to significant reductions in shooting, gassing and poisoning, and occurred despite an increase in suicide by hanging. There were similar changes in the methods of suicide used by females. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that that measures to control the availability of firearms, the requirement for new cars to be fitted with catalytic converters and the decline in the prescription of tricyclic antidepressants have resulted in a decline in total suicide rates.
In contrast to shooting, gassing and poisoning, hanging suicides by males and females increased, rare suicides by sharp objects were unchanged, and jumping from a height declined only among females. The absence of a demonstrable fall in the rates of suicide by these methods might be because they are difficult to regulate. The exception was drowning, a rare method of suicide that might never be regulated, that declined significantly among males and females.
The higher rate of suicide by jumping in NSW relative to other states might be explained by the ready access to cliffs and the greater number of high bridges and tall buildings in the Sydney region.
