BEACHY HEAD—CUTTING THE SUICIDE RATE IN HALF. Megan McArdle told the Beachy Head story here on the Bloombergview site. Beachy Head is a town in England that has dramatic cliffs. Because of the cliffs, it had a high suicide rate. In 1975, Beachy Head suddenly cut the suicide rate in half in a single year. How was this accomplished?
There was a new medical examiner. He began testing the blood alcohol levels of those who were found at the foot of the cliffs. Those with alcohol in their blood were deemed to be victims of an accident rather than suicides.