This cause of death comes under the ‘external’ causes of death category (see Map 5) and falls into the sub-category of ‘Homicide and injury purposely inflicted by other persons’, along with a range of other methods of murder/assault, such as use of firearms or poisoning. See also Map 39 Suicide/undetermined by cutting.

Three quarters of those who have died due to this cause are males. As the age–sex bar chart shows, younger males are at a much higher risk. The rates in Glasgow and the south west of Scotland are immediately striking. London and other English urban centres follow with the next highest SMRs. Much of the remainder of rural and provincial Britain has substantially lower rates.

This cause of death includes killing by cutting or stabbing using a sharp object, most commonly a knife or broken glass. It includes killing which may be intentional or unintentional; many of these assaults are impulsive, related to alcohol and drug misuse, and assailants use whatever weapon is to hand. Often the knife used is a kitchen knife in a domestic incident. Women are more commonly murdered by their partners. Men are more commonly murdered by someone to whom they are unrelated.

Blunt-ended table knives were introduced in the 18th century to reduce the injuries resulting from arguments over the dinner table in public eateries (Hern et al, 2005). Many domestic kitchen knives, however, are of the dagger variety with a pointed tip and they often have a long blade. In contrast to a knife with a short blade these can penetrate deeply and can easily cause serious injury or death. Hern and colleagues argue that there is no culinary necessity for knives of this type and that banning them would drastically reduce their availability and therefore their use in personal attacks.

Broken drinking glasses and bottles are also used as weapons, often in fights in public places where alcohol has been consumed. This is known as ‘glassing’ and can lead to severe facial injuries. In these situations the assault and any resulting homicide is usually unplanned: the intention may be to cause injury, but not necessarily to kill.

Hern, E., Glazebrook, W. and Beckett, M. (2005) ‘Reducing knife crime’, BMJ, no 330, pp 1221-2.