SynthesisBMC public health2025
Paraquat at 63-the story of a controversial herbicide and its regulations: It is time to put people and public health first when regulating paraquat.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Accidental and intentional poisonings in Colombia (2015-2023): Social and territorial inequalities affecting public health.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Photoresponsive mesoporous silica nanocarriers for paraquat with substantially reduced acute toxicity and effective weed control.Pest management science · 2026Article
- District health management teams as champions for implementing the WHO LIVE LIFE suicide-prevention framework in Rural Uganda: a pre-implementation qualitative study.Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Fatal pediatric paraquat poisoning following scalp application for head lice treatment: Public health implications for pesticide regulation and emergency care - A case series.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Targeted Delivery of Bilirubin to Pulmonary Endothelium Mitigates Paraquat-Induced Lung Injury.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Article
- Clinical characteristics and early admission predictors of in-hospital death in acute paraquat poisoning: a retrospective cohort study of 128 patients.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Enhanced Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Pesticide Paraquat Based on Combining Magnetite and Gold Nanoparticles.Toxics · 2025Article
- Sensitive Detection of Paraquat in Water Using Triangular Silver Nanoplates as SERS Substrates for Sustainable Agriculture and Water Resource Management.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundParaquat is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, despite its high human toxicity and the overwhelming evidence of associated high morbidity and mortality. Due to the significant public health implications of the use of paraquat, there have been calls to severely restrict or ban it in many countries. In this paper, we aim to investigate the regulatory status of paraquat at the national, regional, and international levels, discuss the successes and challenges of regulatory implementation, and review the impact of regulation on the incidence of poisoning and death.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review of articles on the regulation of the herbicide paraquat. The review concentrated on interventions to mitigate the negative public health impact of paraquat use. To complement our findings, we also conducted region-wise and country-wise searches on paraquat regulations. We collected information on paraquat regulations and restrictions and regulatory aspects of regulation implementation.
resultsAt least 74 countries do not authorise paraquat in their markets, with bans, phase-outs, and withdrawals from the market. National and regional bans and phase-outs were effective at reducing paraquat poisoning and deaths. Restrictions on the use and application of paraquat, however, did not always result in a significant reduction in poisoning or suicide mortality, and many countries introduced bans after restrictions proved ineffective.
conclusionOur review highlights several important elements for the success of the implementation of these regulations, with reductions in harm and no effect on agriculture. It is now time for national, regional, and international authorities to pay attention to the scientific evidence of human toxicity and put people's lives and health ahead of economic and business considerations in regulating paraquat. Its use should be replaced by other of weed control. This should be a public health priority.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.