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Suicide rates among people of all ages are higher in states where more homes have guns, United States researchers reported.
Twice as many people committed suicide in the 15 states with the highest levels of household gun ownership, compared with the six states with the lowest levels, even though the population in all the states was about the same. "We found that where there are more guns, there are more suicides," said Matthew Miller of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study.
While just 5 per cent of all suicide attempts involve a gun, the person succeeds in killing himself or herself 90 per cent of the time. People use drugs to attempt suicide in 75 per cent of cases, but actually die less than 3 per cent of the time.
- REUTERS
