Charcoal burning is also popular for suicide pacts made on the internet

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7491.602-b

BMJ 2005;330:602 (12 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7491.602-b

Letter

Charcoal burning is also popular for suicide pacts made on the internet

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Rajagopal's editorial discussed how strangers caninitiate suicide pacts on the internet.¹ The two cited Japanesesuicide pacts both used a new suicide method, charcoal burning.These widely publicised pacts were followed by four additionalpacts and 13 deaths in two months, all of whom used charcoalburning. The new suicide method entails smouldering barbecuecoal in a small and sealed environment, such as a bedroom, withthe aim of producing a carbon monoxide chamber in a short time.^2-4

In Hong Kong we had also observed that suicide pacts commonlyused charcoal burning to institute death. In 2002 and 2003,20 of the 22 suicide pacts (91%) used charcoal burning. Of allcharcoal burning deaths during the same period, 7% were suicidepacts (unpublished review of coroners' case records for 2002-3,Coroner Court, Hong Kong SAR).

Several characteristics of charcoal burning make it desirablefor people who want . . . [Full text of this article]

Dominic T S Lee, professor

dominiclee@cuhk.edu.hk, Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Kathy P M Chan, adjunct associate professor

Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Paul S F Yip, director

Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China