Suicide rates drop among young Britons

London, Feb 15 (UNI) Even as claims about young people suffering from intolerable levels of stress mount high, a new study has stated that suicide rates in young men have fallen to their lowest level marking the end of a three-decade long rise.

Suicide rates in young women have been declining for the past 40 years and are now at their lowest level since 1968.

The research suggests that the new generation was either more happy or more equipped to withstand anxiety, despite increasing drink and drug abuse, rising obesity, higher levels of sexually transmitted disease and a more competitive world.

During the 1980s, Britain experienced an ''epidemic'' rise of suicide in young men, coinciding with a huge increase in unemployment. Rising divorce rates took a heavy toll on some men who found themselves homeless after splitting from partners.

All industrial nations experienced a similar rise in suicides among young men, which still remains partly unexplained.

Such trends had led to suicide becoming a major contributor to premature mortality and were thought to indicate deteriorating mental health in younger people, the report published in British Medical Journal stated.

Removing access to a method is one of the most effective ways of reducing suicide. Measures such as reducing pack sizes of paractamol for sale in supermarkets to a maximum of 16, which has reduced deliberate overdoses, and the deployment of volunteer patrols and safety gear such as nets and barriers at suicide hot spots have helped in the reduction.

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