--- title: Pesticides Leading Method of Suicide: World Health Organization description: Pesticides lead the list as the most frequent method of suicide for the more than 800,000 people who take their lives each year. canonical: https://time.com/3270766/pesticide-poisoning-is-the-leading-method-of-suicide/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-04T21:14:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:01:14.239Z article:section: Health og:title: Pesticide Poisoning Is The Leading Method of Suicide og:description: Pesticides lead the list as the most frequent method of suicide for the more than 800,000 people who take their lives each year. og:url: https://time.com/3270766/pesticide-poisoning-is-the-leading-method-of-suicide/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pesticide Poisoning Is The Leading Method of Suicide twitter:description: Pesticides lead the list as the most frequent method of suicide for the more than 800,000 people who take their lives each year. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Pesticide Poisoning Is The Leading Method of Suicide  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 4, 2014 9:14 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 4, 2014 9:14 PM UTC For the more than 800,000 people who take their lives each year around the world, pesticide poisoning is the most frequently used method, according to a new [report](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/suicide-prevention-report/en/) from the World Health Organization. “Restricting access to the means of suicide is effective in preventing suicide – particularly impulsive suicide – as it gives those contemplating suicide more time to reconsider,” the report said. Methods of suicide vary significantly from region to region, and pesticide poisoning is most common in rural regions where the chemicals are readily available. In the United States, easy access to guns helps make firearms the most common method. The report argues that suicide is preventable and calls on communities to fight the stigma that surrounds mental health issues and to take action on the issue. “Every suicide is a tragedy,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan in the report. “The impact on families, friends and communities is devastating and far-reaching, even long after persons dear to them have taken their own lives.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3270766/pesticide-poisoning-is-the-leading-method-of-suicide/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3270766/pesticide-poisoning-is-the-leading-method-of-suicide/"},"headline":"Pesticide Poisoning Is The Leading Method of Suicide","datePublished":"2014-09-04T21:14:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:01:14.239Z","description":"Pesticides lead the list as the most frequent method of suicide for the more than 800,000 people who take their lives each year.","url":"https://time.com/3270766/pesticide-poisoning-is-the-leading-method-of-suicide/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Suicide","Research","World Health Organization"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-healthpsychology/","name":"Mental Health/Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3270766/pesticide-poisoning-is-the-leading-method-of-suicide/","name":"Pesticide Poisoning Is The Leading Method of Suicide"}}]}] ```