FN: the fact of administering poison to or contaminating with poisonOccupational safety officials in South Africa have set up a public inquiry to investigate mercury poisoning of at least three employees of a British-owned toxic waste reprocessing plant at Cato Ridge in Natal . Statistically these deaths largely occur as a result of the inhalation of vomit and alcoholic poisoning , and it therefore seems somewhat bizarre for the police to be in charge of those suffering in such a way . Most other methods are similarly flawed , whether they are by garotting , gas poisoning , electric chair or whatever . Coal gas poisoning was a common method of successful suicide until the carbon monoxide content of domestic gas was reduced . As far as Greenpeace is concerned -- unless the rot is stopped now rivers like the Severn are doomed to slow death by poisoning . A father and a son were admitted to hospital with strychnine poisoning after consuming Herron products .