Kreutz Kasey, Danielsen Travis, Quinton Reade A
Acad Forensic Pathol. 2019 Sep;9(3-4):217-224. doi: 10.1177/1925362119891703. Epub 2020 Jan 31.
In 1987, a case report was published in the German journal Archiv für Kriminologie describing an apparently novel method of suicide in which the decedent produced a lethal amount of carbon monoxide by mixing formic acid and sulfuric acid. This method of chemical suicide remained obscure until 2003, when Dr. Philip Nitschke, a vocal supporter of assisted suicide, began promoting a homemade carbon monoxide generator which utilized this same chemical reaction. In 2006, he coauthored The Peaceful Pill Handbook, which provided further details about how the device worked. Pro-voluntary euthanasia organizations and online forums continue to provide information about this method, promoting it as painless and efficient. There have been nine case reports of suicides and attempted suicides using this chemical reaction, with five reported in Europe, three in the United States, and one in Taiwan. Two additional cases were reported in news articles that did not correspond to known case reports, indicating that this method of suicide is more common than the scientific literature would suggest. We present the case of a 44-year-old male who learned about this method of chemical suicide online and filmed the suicidal act while verbally recording carbon monoxide levels prior to losing consciousness.
1987年，德国《犯罪学档案》杂志发表了一篇病例报告，描述了一种明显新颖的自杀方法，即死者通过混合甲酸和硫酸产生致命剂量的一氧化碳。这种化学自杀方法一直不为人知，直到2003年，积极支持协助自杀的菲利普·尼奇克博士开始推广一种利用相同化学反应的自制一氧化碳发生器。2006年，他与人合著了《安宁药片手册》，进一步详细介绍了该装置的工作原理。支持自愿安乐死的组织和在线论坛继续提供有关这种方法的信息，宣传其无痛且高效。已有9例使用这种化学反应自杀和自杀未遂的病例报告，其中5例在欧洲，3例在美国，1例在台湾。新闻报道中还提及另外两例与已知病例报告不符的案例，这表明这种自杀方法比科学文献显示的更为常见。我们报告一例44岁男性的病例，该男性在网上了解到这种化学自杀方法，并在失去意识前口头记录一氧化碳水平的同时拍摄了自杀行为。
