Strategy developed to stem US suicides

U.S. government agencies and private partners have developed a national strategy to address the 33,000 Americans who commit suicide each year, officials say. The 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a joint effort led by the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, is a call to action intended to guide prevention actions through the next decade. Suicide was in the Top 10 causes of death in the United States in 2009 and in addition to the approximately 33,000 Americans who kill themselves each year, 30 times that number attempt suicide, the report said. More than 8 million adults reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, 2.5 million reported making a suicide plan in the past year and 1.1 million reported a suicide attempt in the past year. In addition, almost 16 percent of students in grades 9 to 12 reported having seriously considered suicide and 7.8 percent reported having attempted suicide one or more times in the past 12 months, the report said. "Every suicide attempt and death affects countless other individuals. Family members, friends, co-workers and others in the community all suffer the long-lasting consequences of suicidal behaviors," the report said. "Suicide places a heavy burden on the nation in terms of the emotional suffering as well as the economic costs associated with medical care and lost productivity and yet suicidal behaviors often continue to be met with silence and shame."