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Stores may be asked
to lock up charcoal
SUICIDE WATCH: After a plan to have charcoal
buyers register first failed, health officials think that locking it up may
discourage more suicides by burning charcoal
Staff writer, with CNA
The Department of Health (DOH) is considering asking retailers to lock up
charcoal sold in their stores to prevent people with suicidal tendencies from
getting their hands on it.
A recent study by the department found that the most common suicide methods in
the country were hanging, burning charcoal indoors and drinking pesticide, said
Wang Tsung-hsi (¤ý©vÄf), deputy director of the department¡¦s Bureau of Medical
Affairs.
Although the number of deaths from suicide fell from 4,400 in 2006 to 3,417 last
year, about two-thirds of them were caused by hanging or carbon monoxide
poisoning from burning charcoal in a closed space, Wang said.
The study also found that burning charcoal was the method of choice to take
one¡¦s life in urban areas in the north, while ingesting pesticide was more
common in rural areas in the south because it is more readily available, Wang
said.
The idea of locking up charcoal in stores was inspired by Hong Kong, where the
government tried the idea first in Tuen Mun District and it lowered the number
of suicide deaths by half, he said.
The same idea may be applied to pesticides, he added.
The department plans to require that pesticide manufacturers set aside NT$1 for
every kilogram of product sold to finance the production of storage containers
with locks.
The containers will be given to farmers to store their pesticides, preventing
others from getting their hands on the potentially deadly chemicals, Wang said.
Medical Affairs Bureau Director Shih Chung-liang (¥Û±R¨}) urged store clerks to
watch out for people who only purchase charcoal.
The government has shown renewed concern over the issue after a family of four
were found dead in their home in Shulin District (¾ðªL), New Taipei City (·s¥_¥«),
after using charcoal to take their lives. The parents apparently killed
themselves and their children because of their inability to pay off their debts,
police said.
New Taipei City recorded 548 suicides last year, 30 percent of which were from
charcoal burning, the municipality¡¦s health department said.
The DOH had planned to require registration of charcoal purchases, but dropped
the idea after it drew heavy public criticism, officials said.
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