The changing pattern of suicide by gassing in Australia, 1910–1987: the role of natural gas and motor vehicles

Abstract

There have been large changes in the use of gas as a suicide method in Australia during this century, the most marked being the increased use of motor vehicle exhaust fumes, and the introduction of natural gas in the early 1960s. In males, use of motor vehicle exhaust fumes as a suicide method has substituted for use of domestic gas. It was concluded that in neither sex did the elimination of toxic carbon monoxide in domestic gas, with the introduction of natural gas, result in a lasting reduction of suicide rates. Attention is drawn to possible failed suicide attempts using motor vehicles with emission controls, resulting in serious cerebral damage.