HYDERABAD: Hard drugs or street drugs is year after year stated by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as a prime cause of suicide, but a recent study in Hyderabad narrows down the cause of suicide by drug abuse majorly to prescription and over-the-counter drug sale.The revelations are based on autopsy reports of 134 drug overdose suicide cases in the city. The study conducted by Dr KV Ramana Murthy, Professor of Forensic Medicine at Osmania Medical College reports that most of the 134 confirmed drug overdose suicide cases which arrived at a tertiary hospital in the city over a span of two years were found to be either due to abuse of prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs. Deaths reported due to overdose of hard drugs were handful.
This raises a concern over the probability of prescription drugs being sold by pharmacies to people wanting to commit suicide and not having prescription from doctors for the drugs. It may be pointed out here that the Drug Control Authority of Telangana which is responsible for taking action against such illegalities has been functioning without a permanent director since many months.
The study found that of the 134 drug overdose suicide cases, 87 were due to overdose of a single drug and 47 were due to overdose of more than one type of drug. Among the single-drug overdose suicide cases, 71.1 per cent were due to prescription drugs whereas 23.5 per cent were due to over-the-counter drugs. Only 5.4 per cent suicide deaths were attributed to hard drugs like Amphetamine.
In the single prescription drug overdose suicide cases, majority of the suicides were due to overdose of the drug classes - analgesics (pain killers), followed by antidepressants and neuroleptics, also known as anti-psychotics. Most commonly used prescription drugs were morphine, quetiapine, and amitriptyline.
In the multiple drug overdose cases, anti-depressants are used for committing suicide.
Anti-depressants were detected in 66 per cent of the multiple drug suicide cases.
Experts say that suicide by drug overdose is more of an urban phenomenon.
Narayana college student suicide: SHRC seeks report from govt
A day after 17-year-old BiPC student from Narayana college in Bandlaguda was found hanging to a ceiling fan. Students from the Telangana Students Federation held a dharna outside the college campus on Thursday. The State Human Rights Commission has directed the principal secretary (Education) and the commissioner of Rachakonda to give an inquiry report by October 26.
Another intermediate student kills self at Kamathipura
Another girl student of a corporate junior college allegedly committed suicide on Thursday by hanging to the ceiling in Kamathipura police limits. The deceased is Pavitra, a first year Intermediate student of Sri Chaitanya College. She was a resident of Kamathipura. Police said, Pavitra was suffering from severe stomach pain for the past 10 days. Unable to bear the pain, she allegedly took the extreme step. A case was filed.