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Surgeon General Touts Suicide Prevention On
May 2, 2001, Surgeon General David Satcher released a plan to reduce
the number of suicides, which stands at 650,000 attempts and 30,000
deaths each year. That approaches the number who die in automobile
accidents, and is probably an underestimate because death
certificates sometimes list another cause to spare families
embarrassment. Prevention programs can succeed; the Air Force
reduced suicides by 60% over 5 years. The program is voluntary and
consists of 68 recommendations set to be implemented by 2005. Some
recommendations are designed to spread the word that suicidal
thoughts and actions are signs of illness and not something to be
ashamed of.
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