§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of suicide deaths resulted from paracetamol overdose in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe information is shown in the table.
305W
Suicide deaths from poisoning where paracetamol is mentioned in the deaths' records. England and Wales 1988–1992. Paracetamol without mention of other drugs Paracetamol with mention of other drugs Year Numbers Percentage of suicide deaths Numbers Percentage of suicide deaths 1988 102 (10) 2.4 29 (4) 0.7 1989 64 (3) 1.7 13 (3) 0.3 1990 101 (5) 2.6 5 (-) 0.1 1991 81 (5) 2.1 23 (3) 0.6 1992 99 (11) 2.5 12 (3) 0.3 The figures in brackets are deaths where there was also a mention of alcohol.
Note: This table is compiled using the information available in Table 2 of Series DH2, and Table 10 of Series DH4.
Table 2 of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys publication "Mortality Statistics: cause" Series DH2 lists all three-digit ICD (International Classification of Diseases) categories containing a death, and also all four digit categories that are expected to attain 20 deaths annually.
Table 10 of the OPCS publication "Mortality statistics: injury and poisoning" Series DH4 nos. 15–19, lists all substances mention ed in the records of deaths assigned to accidental and other poisoning by solid or liquid substances. The inclusion of a substance in this list does not, however, imply that it is necessarily toxic. Where two or more substances are mentioned together the contribution, if any, of each to the death is unknown; even where one substance is listed alone there may well be the other factors with an important bearing on death.
Copies of the publications are available in the Library.