Chemical Used in Suicides Faces Sales Ban Under Proposed Law

By Kaustuv Basu

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is introducing legislation to ban the sale of highly concentrated sodium nitrite, a chemical sold by Amazon.com Inc. and some online retailers that has been used by dozens of teenagers and others to kill themselves.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) among others, would stop the sale of the chemical to consumers while still allowing business-to-business transactions. The chemical is used in less concentrated form by businesses for food preservation.

“In high concentrations, sodium nitrite is as lethal as some of the most widely regulated poisons on the market. There’s simply no reason it should be available to the public, particularly with its promotion on online suicide forums,” Trahan said in an emailed statement. She and the others planned to introduce the legislation on Thursday.

Self-harm by teenagers using the chemical has increased in recent years. Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, has been sued by victims’ families who say their kids bought the compound through the online marketplace. While Amazon has faced lawsuits for allegedly selling unsafe products like hoverboards, attorneys for plaintiffs in cases involving sodium nitrite say the chemical’s only use in its concentrated form was for suicide.

Amazon, in response to questions from Bloomberg Law in November, said that it had stopped selling “pure” sodium nitrite to home consumers and offered it only on its Amazon business marketplace. The company said that pure sodium nitrite isn’t intended for direct consumption but “unfortunately, like many products, it can be misused.” The company declined to comment on the proposed ban Wednesday.

C.A. Goldberg PLLC, a law firm in New York, has so far filed three lawsuits against Amazon over its sale of the product, with each filing representing two families.

“It’s an encouraging sign that lawmakers around the country are beginning to take matters into their own hands to restrict sales of sodium nitrite to individuals,” said Naomi Leeds, an attorney for C.A. Goldberg. “But it’s frightening that we’ve gotten to the point where legislative action is necessary.”

Trahan’s office said it sent letters to 13 businesses asking them not to sell the product. Five didn’t respond, one declined in absence of a legal requirement, and the rest either took down listings for the product, moved to sell to businesses only, or began selling in person only while stopping online sales.

The bill defines a high concentration of sodium nitrite as “a concentration of 10 or more percent.”

The legislation in Congress comes as some state lawmakers move to restrict the sale of the chemicals. A bill in the California assembly that would restrict the sale of sodium nitrite is close to passing the state senate while legislation has been introduced in the New York state senate to restrict sales.

“The widespread availability of such a deadly compound has undeniably worsened our mental health crisis by providing teenagers in a moment of struggle an easy means of taking their own lives,” said California Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D), who introduced a sodium nitrite bill.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. You can also reach a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.