Recurring concern

Uncontrolled promotion and supply of substances for suicide

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First reported 30 Jul 2024•Latest report 9 Dec 2025

Definition

What this concern includes

Includes promotion or advertising for suicide use, sale or supply for that use, intended-use enquiries, transaction assessment, suspicious-purchase evaluation or reporting, quantity controls and end-user controls.

Not included

  • Excludes assertions confined to vendor awareness, vendor-facing guidance or vendor training without a promotion, supply or transaction-control failure; those belong to the dedicated vendor-recognition parent.
  • Excludes generic suicide-prevention communication, mental-health support or online-content moderation where no substance promotion or supply control is identified.
  • Excludes lawful clinical use, prescribing, dispensing or treatment unless promotion or supply for suicide or self-harm is the unsafe condition.
  • Excludes clinical treatment after poisoning or overdose when promotion or supply was not deficient.
Reports
11

Distinct published reports

Individual concerns
17

A report can raise multiple concerns

Date range
2024–2025

First to latest report issue date

Stated actions
11

Described in published responses

Reports over time

Reports over time

Reports about this concern issued each year.

* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.

Most frequent recipients

Most frequent recipients

Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.

Home Office10
Department of Health and Social Care3
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology1

Concerns and responses across reports

Only concerns grouped under this recurring concern are included. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

  1. Nottinghamshire

    AI-generated summary

    Bethany Paige Langton · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Bethany Paige Langton, aged 22, was discovered deceased in her bedroom on 18 February 2023 after deliberately ingesting a substance sourced online with the intention of causing her death. The principal concerns were the substance’s easy online availability, limited awareness among businesses that it could be obtained for suicide, and the continued availability of online guidance about sourcing and using it for that purpose.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to require explanation of purchasers’ intended use of the substance

    Wider context from the report

    “1. The continued ease of availability of ████████ to members of the public. The substance is lethal when ingested, even in relatively small quantities. It’s use in suicide is increasing. The substance is readily available to purchase online without the need for any explanation of the purchaser’s intended use for the substance, or an end user certificate/licence to track where it is being distributed. ”

    Source location

    Bethany Paige Langton · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 1 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to use end-user certification or licensing to track distribution of the substance

    Wider context from the report

    “1. The continued ease of availability of ████████ to members of the public. The substance is lethal when ingested, even in relatively small quantities. It’s use in suicide is increasing. The substance is readily available to purchase online without the need for any explanation of the purchaser’s intended use for the substance, or an end user certificate/licence to track where it is being distributed. ”

    Source location

    Bethany Paige Langton · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 1 · concerns

    Open source report
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Data last updated 7 September 2026