In this letter to the editor, Collins discusses an episode of “Casualty”, a BBC program, in which the case of a 15-year-old girl who overdosed, but was not suicidal, was presented. The episode was intended to serve as a deterrent to adolescent viewers who might contemplate a similar course of action when faced with difficulties. However, the author found a significant increase in the number of teenage girls who overdosed in the weeks following the broadcast. (4 refs.)