Year: 2014 Source: Social Science & Medicine.(2010).70(10):1626Ð1632. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.01.029 SIEC No: 20140425

This review discusses the limitation of access to suicide methods as a way to prevent suicide, an approach which forms a major component of many national suicide prevention strategies. An important distinction is made between efforts that attempt to limit physical access to suicide methods and those that attempt to reduce the cognitive availability of suicide. Physical imitations will be reviewed with reference to restricting access to domestic gas, catalytic converters, firearms, pesticides, jumping, paracetamol and methods used in prisons. Impacts of cognitive availability will be discussed mainly with regard to the media in terms of providing access to technical information and sensational or inaccurate portrayals of suicide.