The findings come from a comprehensive analysis of available data from 2019-24 published in the open-access journal BMJ Public Health. Researchers say the findings point to an urgent public health need to reconsider unrestricted access to the chemical in an effort to prevent further avoidable deaths. Suicide death rates across the UK have generally declined since the early 1990s.
More recently, however, there are signs that the numbers may be increasing. At the same time, reports from around the world have documented a growing number of suicides associated with sodium nitrite poisoning. Researchers Examine Sodium Nitrite Poisoning Cases To investigate whether sodium nitrite poisoning may be contributing to suicide deaths in the UK, researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of cases submitted to the country's primary laboratory for postmortem testing of nitrite and its oxidized metabolite, nitrate.
The cases were submitted by coroners, forensic pathologists, and police forces between March 2019 and August 2024. Over that period, the laboratory received 274 samples connected to 201 suspected cases of either deliberate or accidental poisoning across the UK, Ireland, and Gibraltar. Most cases originated in Greater London, South East England, Ireland, and the Midlands.
However, the researchers caution that this geographic pattern could reflect differences in coroner awareness and testing practices rather than the actual distribution of cases. The number of cases increased substantially after 2019, which was the first year the laboratory began receiving samples for nitrite/nitrate assessment. For the final analysis, researchers used only cases for which coroners had approved the use of the data.
That represented 82% (164) of the cases received between 2019 and 2024. Young People and Men Accounted for Most Cases The average age among the cases was 28. Ages ranged from 14-74 for males and 17-82 for females.
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of all cases involved younger generations. Gen Z accounted for 33% (born 1981- 96), while Millennials accounted for 38% (born 1997- 2012, but listed up to 2005 to account for a separate category of minors, as 4% of cases were among those under the age of 18). Men substantially outnumbered women overall, with (109) male cases compared with (52) female cases.
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