@article {Crombie1505, author = {I K Crombie and P McLoone}, title = {Does the availability of prescribed drugs affect rates of self poisoning?}, volume = {48}, number = {433}, pages = {1505--1506}, year = {1998}, publisher = {Royal College of General Practitioners}, abstract = {The trends in self-poisoning rates and in rates of prescribing of the major drug groups were compared. Over the period 1981-91, barbiturate prescribing and self poisoning both fell by 80\%; for antidepressants, prescribing increased by over 40\% and self poisoning by 30\%; for antipsychotics, both rose by 30\%; for benzodiazepines, poisoning fell by 30\% and prescribing by 20\%. Even for analgesic drugs, which are also available over the counter, there was a correspondence between changes in self poisoning and prescribing. The availability of prescribed drugs is directly related to their use for self poisoning. Restricting the availability of these drugs is a possible preventative strategy, although further research on this is needed.}, issn = {0960-1643}, URL = {https://bjgp.org/content/48/433/1505}, eprint = {https://bjgp.org/content/48/433/1505.full.pdf}, journal = {British Journal of General Practice} }