Suicide pill
Encyclopedia
A Cyanide pill is a pill, capsule, ampoule
or tablet
containing a fatally poisonous substance that a person ingests deliberately in order to quickly cause his/her own life to end
. This is done in order to avoid an imminent and far more unpleasant death (such as through torture
) or to ensure that he/she cannot be interrogated and leak sensitive information. As a result, lethal pills have important psychological value to persons carrying out missions with a high risk of capture and interrogation. Their main advantage is that, whereas a concealed pistol
will quickly be discovered and confiscated when someone is overpowered and searched, a small pill more easily evades detection.
, consisting of a thin-walled glass ampoule covered in brown rubber (to protect against accidental breakage) and filled with a concentrated solution of potassium cyanide
. It is important to note that purpose-made lethal pills (of the rubber-coated type) are never swallowed whole. Instead, they are first crushed between the user's molars to release the fast-acting poison contained within. Brain death
occurs within minutes and the heartbeat
stops shortly after. A suicide pill swallowed without first being crushed would pass harmlessly through the digestive tract.
The concept of the suicide pill does not limit itself to pills, but rather may lend itself in a colloquial manner to anything that has fatal consequences when deliberately taken or done.
The Central Intelligence Agency
began experimenting with saxitoxin
, an extremely potent neurotoxin
, during the 1950s. According to CIA Director William Colby
they issued a tiny, saxitoxin-impregnated needle (hidden inside a fake silver dollar) to Francis Gary Powers, an American
U-2
pilot who was shot down while flying over the USSR in May 1960.
, a suicide pill is a form of risk arbitrage
used by corporations to thwart hostile takeover
attempts. As an extreme version of the poison pill
defense, this crippling provision refers to any technique used by a target firm
in which takeover protection could result in self-destruction.
Variations of the suicide pill include the Jonestown Defense
, Scorched Earth defense, and Golden Parachute
.
, who co-wrote Lost Moon
(later renamed "Apollo 13").
Ampoule
An ampoule is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are commonly made of glass, although plastic ampoules do exist....
or tablet
Tablet
A tablet is a pharmaceutical dosage form. It comprises a mixture of active substances and excipients, usually in powder form, pressed or compacted from a powder into a solid dose...
containing a fatally poisonous substance that a person ingests deliberately in order to quickly cause his/her own life to end
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. This is done in order to avoid an imminent and far more unpleasant death (such as through torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
) or to ensure that he/she cannot be interrogated and leak sensitive information. As a result, lethal pills have important psychological value to persons carrying out missions with a high risk of capture and interrogation. Their main advantage is that, whereas a concealed pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
will quickly be discovered and confiscated when someone is overpowered and searched, a small pill more easily evades detection.
Description
Traditionally, lethal pills are oval capsules, approximately the size of a peaPea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
, consisting of a thin-walled glass ampoule covered in brown rubber (to protect against accidental breakage) and filled with a concentrated solution of potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
. It is important to note that purpose-made lethal pills (of the rubber-coated type) are never swallowed whole. Instead, they are first crushed between the user's molars to release the fast-acting poison contained within. Brain death
Brain death
Brain death is the irreversible end of all brain activity due to total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation. It should not be confused with a persistent vegetative state...
occurs within minutes and the heartbeat
Heart rate
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
stops shortly after. A suicide pill swallowed without first being crushed would pass harmlessly through the digestive tract.
The concept of the suicide pill does not limit itself to pills, but rather may lend itself in a colloquial manner to anything that has fatal consequences when deliberately taken or done.
The Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
began experimenting with saxitoxin
Saxitoxin
Saxitoxin is a neurotoxin naturally produced by certain species of marine dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria Saxitoxin (STX) is a neurotoxin naturally produced by certain species of marine dinoflagellates (Alexandrium sp., Gymnodinium sp., Pyrodinium sp.) and cyanobacteria Saxitoxin (STX) is a...
, an extremely potent neurotoxin
Neurotoxin
A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...
, during the 1950s. According to CIA Director William Colby
William Colby
William Egan Colby spent a career in intelligence for the United States, culminating in holding the post of Director of Central Intelligence from September 1973, to January 1976....
they issued a tiny, saxitoxin-impregnated needle (hidden inside a fake silver dollar) to Francis Gary Powers, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
pilot who was shot down while flying over the USSR in May 1960.
Examples
- Field Marshal Erwin RommelErwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
committed suicide with a cyanide pill following his implication in the July 20 plotJuly 20 PlotOn 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
against Hitler. Additionally, Eva BraunEva BraunEva Anna Paula Hitler was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and, for less than 40 hours, his wife. Braun met Hitler in Munich, when she was 17 years old, while working as an assistant and model for his personal photographer and began seeing him often about two years later...
, and a number of convicted Nazi war criminals, such as Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
and Hermann GöringHermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
are known to have committed suicide using lethal pills containing a solution of cyanide saltsCyanide poisoningCyanide poisoning occurs when a living organism is exposed to a compound that produces cyanide ions when dissolved in water. Common poisonous cyanide compounds include hydrogen cyanide gas and the crystalline solids potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide...
.
- William Sterling ParsonsWilliam Sterling ParsonsRear Admiral William Sterling "Deak" Parsons was a naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II...
and several other crew members of the B-29B-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
Superfortress bombers sent to drop atomic bombs on JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were issued with lethal pills, though all aircraft returned safely and none of the pills were used. This was in case they were captured and then tortured by the KempeitaiKempeitaiThe was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not an English-style military police, but a French-style gendarmerie...
to reveal classified informationClassified informationClassified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
regarding atomic weapons.
- In 1987 two North Korean Agents bit into ampules hidden in the filter tips of cigarettes after they were detained in Bahrain as suspects in an airplane bombing. One agent died.
- During the Civil War in Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
between 1987 to 2009, the separatist suicide bombers of Tamil Tigers wore a potassium cyanidePotassium cyanidePotassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
necklace. If they were captured by the Sri Lanka Army, they would bite in to the tablet at the end of the necklace. In addition to suicide bombers, since 1976 almost all separatists of this organization wore suicide pills. This is the most modern day wide scale use of potassium cyanide as a suicide tool.
Metaphorical uses
In economicsEconomics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, a suicide pill is a form of risk arbitrage
Risk arbitrage
Risk arbitrage, or merger arbitrage, is an investment or trading strategy often associated with hedge funds.Two principal types of merger are possible: a cash merger, and a stock merger. In a cash merger, an acquirer proposes to purchase the shares of the target for a certain price in cash...
used by corporations to thwart hostile takeover
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
attempts. As an extreme version of the poison pill
Poison pill
A shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "poison pill", or simply "the pill" is a type of defensive tactic used by a corporation's board of directors against a takeover...
defense, this crippling provision refers to any technique used by a target firm
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
in which takeover protection could result in self-destruction.
Variations of the suicide pill include the Jonestown Defense
Jonestown Defense
The Jonestown defense is an extreme corporation defense against hostile takeovers. In this strategy, the target firm engages in tactics that might threaten the firm’s existence to thwart an imposing acquirer’s bids...
, Scorched Earth defense, and Golden Parachute
Golden parachute
A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Sometimes, certain conditions, typically a change in company ownership, must be met, but often the cause of termination is...
.
Myths
A widely held myth asserts that astronauts carry suicide pills in case they are unable to return to Earth. This was disputed by astronaut Jim LovellJim Lovell
James "Jim" Arthur Lovell, Jr., is a former NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy, most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission...
, who co-wrote Lost Moon
Lost Moon
Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 , later re-named Apollo 13, is a book written by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. It is about the failed Apollo 13 moon landing mission, of which Lovell was the commander...
(later renamed "Apollo 13").