Suicides Rise As More Drugs Taken
(N.Z.P.A. -Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, Jan. 6. More and more people in Britain are becoming dependent on drugs. Thousands more patients are having barbiturates prescribed for insomnia, depression and emotional disturbances. A report in the Journal of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences said:— “Despite warnings of the dangers of addiction, the consumption of the drugs and with it the ever-increasing numbers of suicides, both actual and attempted, and of fatal accidents, continues unabated. “It is possible that there is also a rising prevalence of emotional and physical dependency on them.” The average number of suicides each year from barbiturate poisoning increased from 104 in 1941-50 to 735 a year in 1958-1962. The report discloses that since 1943 the suicide rate for women taking barbiturates exceeds the figures for men. The highest poisoning rate is for women aged 45-64.
The quantity of barbiturates prescribed by general practitioners under the National Health Service doubled between 1953 and 1959 from 81,0001 b to 162,0001 b.
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Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30642, 7 January 1965, Page 7
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167Suicides Rise As More Drugs Taken Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30642, 7 January 1965, Page 7
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