&gt; The absolute rate was 13 per 100,000 people.<p>That statistic is meaningless if you don&#x27;t compare it to the absolute rate for other causes of death. In the US, suicide is the second-leading cause of death* of people aged 15-34, and very high on the list for ages 10-15 and 35-54 (source: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cdc.gov&#x2F;nchs&#x2F;data&#x2F;nvsr&#x2F;nvsr65&#x2F;nvsr65_02.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cdc.gov&#x2F;nchs&#x2F;data&#x2F;nvsr&#x2F;nvsr65&#x2F;nvsr65_02.pdf</a>, pages 18-19). &quot;A signal of our society crumbling before our eyes&quot;, maybe not, but if the second-leading cause of death in a large age group was a bacterial disease, and it has increased by a double-digit percentage in the last decade, people would be calling that a public health emergency.<p>* Accidents being #1. And since accidents are, well, accidents, suicide is arguably the leading cause of death that we can meaningfully do something about.