Reduced blood alcohol concentration in suicide victims in response to a new national alcohol policy in slovenia

Abstract

Background: Addiction is a major social and health problem. Studies on suicide and alcohol at the individual and aggregated level have confirmed a link between alcohol and suicide.

Aim: To assess the impact of the new national alcohol policy in Slovenia on the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in BAC-positive suicide victims before, during and after the implementation of the new national alcohol policy in 2003.

Method: Blood samples were collected by forensic pathologists during medicolegal autopsies of suicide victims in order to establish their BAC levels at the time of death. BAC was measured using two routine independent headspace gas chromatography methods (HSS-GC-FID) and expressed in grams per kilogram.

Results: During the period before the implementation of the act which limited the availability of alcohol in Slovenia, the BACs of BAC-positive suicide victims were higher than those tested in the period after the implementation of the act.

Conclusion: Despite certain limitations, this study demonstrates that legislation measures restricting alcohol availability may be an effective measure of BAC reduction in BAC-positive suicide victims.