Iran: Over Four Thousand Suicides Resulting in Deaths in 2015

The head of the country's social emergency services has announced that in the year 2015, more than four thousand cases of suicide resulting in death occurred in Iran. Hossein Asadbeigi stated on Tuesday, September 30, to the ILNA news agency that Iran ranks 108th globally with this number of suicides. Mr. Asadbeigi reported that the number of suicides leading to death in Iran during the years 2013 and 2014 was four thousand and sixty-nine and in 2015 was four thousand and twenty. He mentioned that the provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah, Lorestan, and Hamadan had the highest rates of suicide deaths relative to their populations. This official attributed the increase in suicide-related deaths over the past five years in Iran to the 'lack of oversight on the distribution of rice pills.' Every year, a significant number of individuals in Iran attempt suicide by ingesting rice pills. According to the head of the social emergency services, only 500 people in the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Tehran have lost their lives due to the use of rice pills. Hanging and poisoning from toxins and medications were also reported as the leading causes of suicide deaths in the country after rice pills. Asadbeigi also stated that individuals aged between 15 and 25 have the highest rates of fatal suicides in Iran. The suicide rates among children and adolescents and attempts at suicide in public places have significantly increased in recent years in Iran, a phenomenon that has raised warnings from sociologists. Researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia, published results in 2013 indicating that Iranians are among the most depressed people in the world. The issue of 'depression' may be one of the causes of the increase in suicides in the country.