Increase in Fatal Suicidal Poisonings and Suffocations in the Year “Final Exit” was Published: a National Study

“Final Exit” recommends poisoning & suffocating by plastic bag as methods of suicide for those with terminal illnesses. The authors sought to determine if the number of suicides using these methods increased in the USA in 1991, the year the book was published, compared to 1990. Asphyxiation involving a plastic bag increased 30.8%, & poisonings increased 5.4%. The ecological data support, but cannot prove conclusively, the hypothesis that “Final Exit” influenced the choice of suicidal methods.