The Department of Health (DOH) is considering asking retailers to lock up charcoal sold in their stores to prevent people with suicidal tendencies from getting their hands on it.
A recent study by the department found that the most common suicide methods in the country were hanging, burning charcoal indoors and drinking pesticide, said Wang Tsung-hsi (王宗曦), deputy director of the department’s Bureau of Medical Affairs.
Although the number of deaths from suicide fell from 4,400 in 2006 to 3,417 last year, about two-thirds of them were caused by hanging or carbon monoxide poisoning from burning charcoal in a closed space, Wang said.
The study also found that burning charcoal was the method of choice to take one’s life in urban areas in the north, while ingesting pesticide was more common in rural areas in the south because it is more readily available, Wang said.
The idea of locking up charcoal in stores was inspired by Hong Kong, where the government tried the idea first in Tuen Mun District and it lowered the number of suicide deaths by half, he said.
The same idea may be applied to pesticides, he added.
The department plans to require that pesticide manufacturers set aside NT$1 for every kilogram of product sold to finance the production of storage containers with locks.
The containers will be given to farmers to store their pesticides, preventing others from getting their hands on the potentially deadly chemicals, Wang said.
Medical Affairs Bureau Director Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) urged store clerks to watch out for people who only purchase charcoal.
The government has shown renewed concern over the issue after a family of four were found dead in their home in Shulin District (樹林), New Taipei City (新北市), after using charcoal to take their lives. The parents apparently killed themselves and their children because of their inability to pay off their debts, police said.
New Taipei City recorded 548 suicides last year, 30 percent of which were from charcoal burning, the municipality’s health department said.
The DOH had planned to require registration of charcoal purchases, but dropped the idea after it drew heavy public criticism, officials said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS