Q Should charcoal sales be banned except near barbecue sites?
Our proposal of restricting accessibility is based on evidence and research and is adopted by the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organisation as one of the effective ways to prevent suicide.
The restriction on the sales of paracetamol has reduced suicide by nearly 20 per cent in Britain. The dramatic increase in the use of charcoal burning to commit suicide in Hong Kong is very disturbing. It has risen from use in 2 per cent of suicides in 1998 to about 25 per cent last year. It has also drawn a new group of individuals who would not have killed themselves otherwise. That's what motivated us to propose measures to make charcoal less accessible.
The knee-jerk response is that proposals are 'impractical' or 'not effective'. Negative responses were also received when the Cherish Your Life message and suicide prevention hotline numbers were printed on charcoal packets two years ago. However, it was reported that the lives of a mother with two young children were saved because of the effort. It takes the whole community's effort to prevent suicide, and the restriction of charcoal is just one perfect example that everyone can participate in it. It might cause some inconvenience, but if it saves some lives every year, it is certainly worth a try.
Paul Yip, director of Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Hong Kong
The dramatic increase in the number of suicides in Hong Kong by charcoal burning in the past five years, with this method now accounting for one in four of all suicide deaths, suggests that strong and innovative measures need to be implemented urgently.