SUICIDE WITH PSYCHOTROPIC-DRUGS IN SWITZERLAND

All suicides in Switzerland in 1990 where drugs were involved (179 per sons; 12.2 % of all suicides) were analyzed by examination of death ce rtificates and direct contacts with physicians and medico-legal instit utions. Nearly 50% of these people took overdoses of combinations of d ifferent drugs and in 26 % of the cases alcohol was reported to have b een taken with the drugs. Unexpectedly, we found 29 suicides in which persons had obviously used drug combinations recommended by EXIT, an o rganization advocatin the freedom of the individual to decide about hi s own time and nature of death. In EXIT-suicides usually barbiturates and anticholinergic drugs were taken together. Interestingly, the barb iturate compound used most often had officially been withdrawn from th e market the previous year. Altogether, psychotropic drugs represented 78.7 % of all drugs taken, with benzodiazepines being named most ofte n (3 8.9 %), followed by barbiturates (16.6 %) and antidepressants (13 .6 %). Among the benzodiazepines flunitrazepam, diazepam, and triazola m were used most often and surprisingly, benzodiazepines were named as single drugs on 27 death certifcates. Among the antidepressants (take n in 20.3 % of overdoses) maprotiline was the most common drug used, f ollowed by mianserin and trimipramine. This order of frequency reflect s the prescribing habits of Swiss doctors. Two suicides were recorded with neuroleptics alone.