A recent study reported in The Lancet, highlights the disturbingly high rate of suicide among teenagers in southern India. Autopsy data gathered from the city of Vellore from 1992 to 2001 indicate suicide as the leading cause of death among 15-19 year olds, with male and female suicide rates nearly 4 and 70 times higher, respectively, than those observed in developed western countries. These localised figures likely reflect an increasing trend of suicide among youths across the whole of India, suggesting a growing health concern that deserves public attention and whose ultimate causes beg for further investigation.