Swiss reveal steady rise in assisted suicide toll

Five out of every 1,000 deaths in Switzerland involve assisted suicide, with women more likely to die this way than men, according to the first official figures.

Swiss authorities recorded a steady rise in assisted suicides in recent years, from 43 in 1998 to 297 in 2009. Earlier figures were not available, even though assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1942.

The figures were compiled as part of a new government effort to scrutinise the work of assisted suicide groups who provide counselling and a lethal cocktail of drugs to those wanting to kill themselves.

Last year, the Swiss government dropped plans to impose tighter rules on their work, saying new laws could infringe civil liberties.

The survey shows almost 90 per cent of cases involved people aged 55 or over. Only 1 per cent involved people under 35 – or about 20 deaths over the 12-year period.

The data also show more women sought assisted suicide than men, making up about 55 per cent of cases.

Most patients were suffering terminal illnesses, particularly cancer. But over the survey period at least 71 people opted for assisted suicide citing depression, and 24 were suffering from blindness, the Federal Statistical Office said.

The figures cover only assisted suicides by Swiss residents. Groups such as Dignitas that provide help to foreign residents keep separate records.

Bernhard Sutter, the vice president of Switzerland’s biggest assisted suicide group, Exit, said the publication of the figures shows the practice was becoming more acceptable. Mr Sutter said that until recently, official Swiss statistics listed those who died by assisted suicide as “poisoned.”