PESTICIDES IN ONE-THIRD OF T&T’S SUICIDES

PESTICIDES are used in at least one-third of suicides in Trinidad and Tobago, a new Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) report has revealed.

Pesticides are also commonly used in suicides in Guyana and Suriname, according to PAHO.

The researchers said that pesticides are as common in deaths in these countries as guns are in North America.

Restricting the use of pesticides could save around 120,000 lives each year in North America, South America and the Caribbean, the health organisation said.

But Dr. Renato Oliveira e Souva, co-author of the report and an expert on mental health and substance abuse, said suicide has deep roots in society.

He stated: “There are different factors that really point, many times, to social determinants, to the conditions that people live in, to the adversaries that people face.”

The expert urged increased access to support systems in schools.

He also asked for more sensitive media reporting on suicides.