Changing trends in suicides using helium or nitrogen

Excerpt

The recent paper by Varlet et al. provided very useful guidelines for the autopsy approach and specimen analysis in cases of deaths involving helium inhalation [1]. As the authors noted deaths due to inert gas asphyxia are increasing in number, this trend was observed in an earlier Australian study which showed an increase in these deaths of 163% nationally between 2001 and 2009. The increase was attributed to access to books such as Final Exit and to various Internet sites that promote this form of self-termination [2]. A follow-up study of South Australian deaths confirmed that although the percentage of suicides due to helium inhalation was relatively low (1.8%), the numbers had doubled between 2005 and 2009 and between 2010 and 2014 [3]. …