Suicide mortality following the implementation of tobacco packaging and pricing policies in Korea: an interrupted time-series analysis – BMC Medicine
Background To prevent tobacco use in Korea, the national quitline number was added to tobacco packages in December 2012, tobacco prices were raised by 80% in January 2015, and graphic health warning labels were placed on tobacco packages in December 2016. This study evaluated the association of these tobacco packaging and pricing policies with suicide mortality in Korea. Methods Monthly mortality from suicide was obtained from Cause-of-Death Statistics in Korea from December 2007 to December 2019. Interrupted time-series analysis was performed using segmented Poisson regression models. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated adjusted for suicide prevention strategies. Results Suicide mortality was 20 per 1,000,000 in December 2007 and showed a downward trend over the study period. After the implementation of tobacco packaging and pricing policies, suicide mortality immediately declined by − 0.09 percent points (95% CI = − 0.19 to 0.01; P > 0.05) for the