Suicidal Nitrogen Inhalation by use of Scuba Full‐Face Diving Mask

A 29‐year‐old man was found dead lying on the bed in a hotel room in a famous Slovak mountain resort. He had a full‐face diving mask on his face, connected through a diving breath regulator to a valve of an industrial (nondiving) high‐pressure tank containing pure 100% nitrogen. The breath regulator (open‐circuit type) used allowed inhalation of nitrogen without addition of open air, and the full‐face diving mask assured aspiration of the gas even during the time of unconsciousness. At autopsy, we found the typical signs of suffocation. Toxicological analysis revealed 94.7% content of nitrogen in alveolar air. Following the completion of the police investigation, the manner of death was classified as a suicide. Within the medico‐legal literature, there has been only one similar case of suicidal nitrogen inhalation described (1).     

An unusual case of anesthetic abuse by a full-face gas mask

The authors report a case of sniffing of halothane (Narcotan) by a 32-year-old man, master of pharmacy, through the military full-face gas mask. The liquid halothane had been applied on the scrubber of the gas mask and voluntarily inhaled. The sniffer was found dead in his flat, with the gas mask still fixed and sealed on his face. Because the authors have not encountered any report of such a case in the literature, they present and discuss this case in this article.     

Privatizing the housing sector: The case of Slovakia

The events of the 1980s generated the end of an era in central Europe—an era characterized by central, planned economies and totalitarian political structures. As each new country struggled to create democratic political processes and market economies, many problems emerged; one of the most vexing was the privatization of housing. In Slovakia, individual family housing had never been nationalized, leaving most of the rural and village families owning their own homes. Apartment houses, as well as multiple dwellings and estates, however, had been nationalized. Consequently, the state created a Restitution Act early on (1990), so that people could reclaim properties unjustly taken from them. In addition, the state had built considerable housing units (usually high-rise apartment blocks); many of these units were simply rented to individual families. But there had also been state construction companies that operated as co-operatives, such that rent payments were credited toward the eventual ownership of the housing. Lastly, many large industries (state owned) had built housing units, which they rented to their employees. But there were not nearly enough housing units, and many people, especially young people, newlyweds, and elderly, were on waiting lists for housing. In all cases ‘rent’ was almost negligible as were utilities, and since there were no taxes or insurance, the total amount of a family budget spent for housing was, on average, quite meagre. This, then, was the situation confronting the new government in 1990. Beginning with data from 1988, this article examines the economic restructuring, apartment construction, changes in proprietary relations, and issues as yet unresolved regarding the privatization of housing in Slovakia.