'Empire' Actress' Sodium Nitrite Suicide Is Part of a Disturbing Trend - The Daily Beast

Authorities around the world have been struggling to keep sodium nitrite out of the hands of vulnerable people amid an alarming uptick in suicides.

While family member’s alluded to her death as a suicide at the time, a medical examiner report obtained by People magazine this week specified that Pearlman died from sodium nitrite poisoning.

Pearlman’s death comes as authorities in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom struggle to keep sodium nitrite out of the hands of vulnerable people.

Lindsey Pearlman, 43, died in February from sodium nitrite poisoning.

Pires wrote that he treated a 28-year-old woman who died from sodium nitrite poisoning just days after she purchased it on Amazon.

But the doctor added that just a small number of hobbyists use the chemical to cure meat, while a growing number of young people are using it to take their own life.

“A small number of hobbyists using this chemical to cure meat at home versus these growing numbers of young people, including teenagers, using it to kill themselves,” Pires said.

Just how many people have died from sodium nitrite is unknown in the United States, but multiple doctors, like Pires, report it’s a growing method of suicide.