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The study compared two homogenous series of attempted suicide with barbiturates: 1012 patients from November 1967 to July 1969, and 327 patients in 1977. During these ten years there was a 10% decrease in the incidence of barbiturate intoxications to the benefit of intoxications with benzodiazepines. A similar trend was seen in the use of medium - or long - acting barbiturates alone as compared with association with other drugs. There also was a remarkable shortening of the delay in admission to hospital: 66% of the patients were admitted within 6 hours of poisoning in 1977, as against 56% in 1967-69) to 1% (3 deaths out of 327 cases in 1977).