Changes in method specific suicide following a national pesticide ban in India (2011-2014)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This paper investigates whether declines in suicide by insecticide poisoning in India following a national ban on endosulfan in 2011were associated with changes in other methods of suicide and total suicide rates. METHOD: Method-specific suicide rates between 2001-2014 were calculated using National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data by sex, age group and region, with observed rates compared to expected rates for the period post-2011. RESULTS: There were an estimated 20,146 fewer male and 8,418 fewer female suicides by insecticide poisoning and 5542 fewer male and 2679 fewer female suicides by all other methods following the national endosulfan ban. Contemporaneously, an estimated ..