Although the total suicide rate in England & Wales has risen between 1974-83, the proportion due to self-poisoning has fallen. Barbiturates still account for a significant proportion of elderly suicides. Tricyclics & benzodiazepines are implicated in a relatively small proportion of suicides in old age. If removal of the means of suicide is an effective preventive strategy in the elderly, then more careful prescribing practices could lead to a lower suicide rate in this age group. (25 refs.)