In this letter to the editor, the authors comment on an article by Serfaty & Masterton on the role of benzodiazepines in fatal poisonings. They discuss a 1990 survey conducted in Switzerland on this topic. It was found that benzodiazepines comprised 3% of all drugs taken in attempted suicide, & 8% of drugs taken in completed sucide. A later correction, attached to this article, states that benzodiazepines were involved in 46.3% of attempted suicides & 43.8% of completed suicides.