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Abstract

The word suicide has a Greek derivation, meaning “self–death” (sui, self; cide, kill). Suicide as a consequence of alcoholism and drug addiction has always been found to be common in many sources of inquiry. The association between suicide and alcohol and drugs has been noted by investigators from a variety of disciplines that have assessed suicide. Many past as well as recent studies have confirmed that alcohol and drug addiction are major risk factors for suicide, as causes and precipitants for suicidal behaviors (1–4).

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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York

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Miller, N.S. (1991). Suicide in Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. In: The Pharmacology of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse and Addiction. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3044-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3044-1_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7774-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3044-1

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