Suicide has become the fourth major cause of death from injury as young people increasingly take their own lives.

Paijit Warachit, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, said yesterday that the Bureau of Epidemiology's injury watch in 2008 found that 30 major hospitals' emergency rooms had admitted 7,237 people suffering from self-inflicted injuries with the intent of committing suicide.

They accounted for 2 per cent of the year's 366,400 patients from all injuries.

Altogether, 439 people succeeded in taking their own lives, making up 7 per cent of all fatalities from injuries.

Citing reports from 2004-2008, Paijit said there was a growing trend of people hurting themselves in suicide attempts every year.

In 2008, more women tried suicide but men were twice as successful.

Most of the suicidal were aged 20-24 at 22 per cent, followed by those 15-19 at 20 per cent and 25-29 at 17 per cent. Over a third were workers, followed by students at 17 per cent and the unemployed at 12 per cent. About 82 per cent tried to kill themselves at home, and mostly from 6pm-10pm.

Swallowing dangerous chemicals or poison was the most common method at 23 per cent, followed by overdosing on painkillers at 16 per cent and drinking pesticide at 15 per cent.

The reasons most cited were economic or social problems, stress and copying suicide news, he said.

Stressing that suicide was not the right solution to any problem, Paijit asked family members to take good care of each other, be more loving and caring and communicate more. Then youngsters would have someone to consult with about their problems and would be less likely to consider ending their life.

People should exercise more to alleviate stress and make their bodies produce endorphin, the hormone of happiness.

Besides the call service for mental health issues at provincial health offices, people could also ask for advice at the ministry's toll-free 1667 hotline around the clock, he added.