Epidemiology of Inhalant Abuse - Archives - National Institute on ...

1. By subscription to a press clipping agency that monitors all British
publications (national and local newspapers and magazines) and
“abstracts” (i.e., clips) any mention <strong>of</strong> a VSA-related death;
2. By writing regularly to all 158 Coroners in England and Wales, the
Crown Office in Scotland, and the Lord Chancellor’s Department for
Northern Ireland; and
3. By maintaining liaison with the Office <strong>of</strong> Population Censuses and
Surveys (OPCS).
Press cuttings also are compared with the <strong>Institute</strong> for the Study <strong>of</strong> Drug
Dependence (ISDD) and the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association
(BAMA), and there is liaison with the Health and Safety Executive and
the Railways Inspectorate over deaths in the workplace. Newspaper
reports are not used to provide detailed data but to indicate that a death
has occurred and to provide the name <strong>of</strong> the deceased and the location.
Details <strong>of</strong> the case then are obtained from the Coroner’s <strong>of</strong>fice. Copies <strong>of</strong>
the following are collected when available:
1. The inquest proceedings,
2. The pathologist’s report,
3. The toxicology report, and
4. The death certificate.
Methods <strong>of</strong> data collection have been the same since 1983, although the
data extends back to 1971. It is unlikely that deaths, particularly in
teenagers, escape attention nowadays unless the facts deliberately are
concealed. This is not impossible, though, since a family doctor can sign
a death certificate without a post mortem examination under certain
circumstances. However, because deaths from any cause are rare in
teenagers, the OPCS can attach additional coding data manually
(“associated digit” coding system). It perhaps is more difficult to be so
confident about deaths among the older population, where VSA is less
likely to be suspected. However, regular letters from St. George’s
Hospital Medical School to all Coroners should prompt them to keep the
possibility in their minds.
211