The Youth Poisoning Prevention Act, a bipartisan bill to help prevent youth suicide by banning public access to high-concentration sodium nitrite, was passed by the U.S. Senate Friday.
“Too many young people are being put at risk by easy access to dangerous poisons,” said Sen. John Curtis, one of the sponsors of the bill, in a press release. “I am proud to see our commonsense legislation to help protect vulnerable Americans, strengthen consumer safety, and prevent needless youth tragedies pass the Senate.”
If signed into law, the bill would add high-concentration sodium nitrite products, defined as a concentration greater than 10%, to a list of banned products under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Sodium nitrite products have been increasingly used as pharmacological suicide agents, according to a report published in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology. The product “interferes with the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen,” the report said, which can lead to fatal consequences.
The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and co-sponsored by Curtis and Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.
“High-concentration sodium nitrite is a textbook example of a deadly product that should never be sold to consumers — let alone to our kids,” said Duckworth.
“Every child’s life is precious. We must ensure that our laws protecting our kids are up to date to protect against emerging deadly hazards. Our bipartisan legislation would immediately take this lethal substance off the shelves — it’s a no-brainer that must be sent to the president’s desk swiftly to help us protect our children.”
Several families who lost children from sodium-nitrite-assisted suicide endorsed the bill.
“This law was written in the names of children who should still be alive,” said Kristin Jónsson, mother of the late Kristine Jónsson, in a press release. “For years, high-purity sodium nitrite was sold with no guardrails despite mounting evidence that it had become a preferred suicide method. Today, we chose public health over preventable tragedy.”
Similar legislation was passed by the House of Representatives in April 2025, so the bill is likely to make it to the president’s desk.
NOTE: If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or chatting online at 988lifeline.org.