Pick Your Poison

Pesticides up to no good, says new research

Posted at 5:08 PM on 18 Sep 2007

A decrease in pesticide availability led to an associated decrease in suicide rates in Sri Lanka, researchers publishing in the International Journal of Epidemiology have concluded. In 1995 and 1998, restrictions were put into place on importation and sales of highly toxic pesticides in Sri Lanka; in 2005, the country's suicide rate was half what it had been in 1995. "Changes in the availability of a commonly used method of suicide may influence not only method-specific but also overall suicide rates," says researcher David Gunnell. "Pesticides are readily available in most rural households in low-income countries and are commonly used by young people who impulsively poison themselves in moments of crisis." Pesticide self-poisoning may account for over one-third of global suicides. In other news, U.S. researchers report that pesticide exposure appears to increase the risk of asthma in farmers. So eat organic already.

sources: Medical Research News, Reuters, Agence France-Presse

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	Read more about: agriculture \| health \| news \| Sri Lanka \| toxics \| all of these topics Tools: print \| email \| write to the editor \| subscribe \| RSS Share: digg \| hugg \| stumbleupon \| reddit \| newsvine \| fark \| facebook Bookmark: del.icio.us \| google \| yahoo Pick Your Poison Pesticides up to no good, says new research Posted at 5:08 PM on 18 Sep 2007 A decrease in pesticide availability led to an associated decrease in suicide rates in Sri Lanka, researchers publishing in the International Journal of Epidemiology have concluded. In 1995 and 1998, restrictions were put into place on importation and sales of highly toxic pesticides in Sri Lanka; in 2005, the country's suicide rate was half what it had been in 1995. "Changes in the availability of a commonly used method of suicide may influence not only method-specific but also overall suicide rates," says researcher David Gunnell. "Pesticides are readily available in most rural households in low-income countries and are commonly used by young people who impulsively poison themselves in moments of crisis." Pesticide self-poisoning may account for over one-third of global suicides. In other news, U.S. researchers report that pesticide exposure appears to increase the risk of asthma in farmers. So eat organic already. sources: Medical Research News, Reuters, Agence France-Presse ADVERTISING POLICY < Previous \| Next > Comments: There are no comments. Be the first to post! You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five. Username: Password: Forgot your password? Enter your username and click: The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?	Also in Grist Take a Page Out of My Book What the leaders of the green movement are reading. Good Home Cooking A bean soup recipe, and how one author coped with a finicky family. Cover the Waterfront A list of green books you can actually read at the beach. The Saga of Fume Do bikers breathe in more pollutants than drivers? Umbra advises. The Week's Most Popular Viewed Commented Emailed 15 green books you can actually read at the beach An interview with author James Howard Kunstler How the organic movement can regain its relevance Ask Umbra on exerting yourself in traffic More than half of today's electricity, more than 16 percent of today's energy McCain just not that into Amtrak BLM reverses stance on solar-project moratorium Lester Brown unveils plan for 80 percent cuts by 2020 Only if you flagrantly cherry pick 15 green books you can actually read at the beach How the organic movement can regain its relevance 'Dell of solar' seeks to make it cheap and user-friendly to get rooftop PV Home Depot will collect CFLs for recycling Food Network star Alton Brown adds a pinch of sustainability to the pot From the Archives With Friends Like These ... Bush administration push for drilling in Colorado angers GOP constituency. Put the Cure in Mercury. Mercury contamination in fish declines when emissions go down. Don't Worry, White Billionaires, We Haven't Forgotten You. Native Americans likely to be hit especially hard by climate change, says report. News Archives