Proposal of new ICD code for suicide by charcoal burning

摘要

Suicide-which claims over 1 million lives annually-is an important global healthcare issue, and examination of the impact of charcoal burning on overall suicide rates is required for effective prevention policies. Lin ct ak and Liu et al note that suicide by charcoal burning and other forms of gas poisoning (grouped together by the International Classification of Disease (ICD)) made up approximately one-quarter (24% in Hong Kong and 25% in Taiwan) of all suicides in 2002. However, the ICD code also includes suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide from a car exhaust or inhaling fire fumes or other vapours. Furthermore, collecting the precise number of suicides from death certificates is difficult-suicidal intent is often unknown at the time of death. Therefore, the exact number of suicides by charcoal burning has not been clarified in Asian countries, including Japan.