Choose Life Programme.

Suicide is one of the principal causes of death for young people in industrialized countries, including Scotland. An advertisement will be aired in prime time television highlighting the need for everyone to support individuals contemplating suicide. The ad mentions that help might be as close as your nearest cabbie or your hairdresser and goes on to propose that people from all walks of life can be trained in providing help to potentially suicidal people. The ad is part of the Scottish Government’s Choose Life Programme, which is a 10 year plan aimed at reducing suicides in Scotland by 20% by 2013.
Rev. Ian Galloway, Convener of the church and Society Council mentioned in his blog that suicide is everyon'es business and that the Choose Life programme with its emphasis on early intervention and provision of initial help by trained members of the public was to be commended. It should be noted however, he continued, that there are many potential reasons for young people to become suicidal and that the advice of trained professionals and counselling staff carries the weight of evidence-based research.

Trends relating to suicide

An increase in suicide amongst young men was reported in an article by C. Pritchard in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Several reasons for this increase have been proposed notably, lower rates of marriage, higher divorce rates, high rates of unemployment, misuse of alcohol and drugs, the threat posed by AIDS and increase risk of imprisonment. This trend has been noted in several countries of the European Community however, the increase in the rates amongst men in the 15 to 24 age group was worse in the UK when compared to the rates in most other EU countries. Unemployment has long been recognised as a major risk factor for suicide (see for example the work by Bartley and Plewis) and although the impetus for job creation schemes is often purely economic, the reality is that unemployment also has severe health implications.

The position of the Church of Scotland on suicide remains clear. It offers compassion and understanding rather than condemnation.

Credits
the photograph of the young man was taken by Dr. John
.



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