"Accident and emergency doctors today call for the banning of long, sharp kitchen knives, arguing they account for at least half of all stabbings.
They say such knives slice through clothing and penetrate vital organs.
"Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long, pointed kitchen knife is an easily accessible, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting," say the doctors from the West Middlesex university hospital, London, in the British Medical Journal.
Knives "of less than 5cm [2ins] in length" or with blunt, round ends would meet culinary needs and be far less likely to result in fatalities.
The doctors, Emma Hern, Will Glazebrook and Mike Beckett, say: "Unfortunately, no data seem to have been collected to indicate how often kitchen knives are used in stabbings, but our own experience and that of police officers and pathologists we have spoken to indicate they are used in at least half of all cases.
"UK government statistics show that 24% of all 16-year-old boys report carrying knives or other weapons, and 19% admitting attacking someone with the intent to cause harm.
"Although other weapons - such as baseball bats, screwdrivers and chains - are also carried, by far the most common weapons are knives."
FFS the world is going potty...
They say such knives slice through clothing and penetrate vital organs.
"Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long, pointed kitchen knife is an easily accessible, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting," say the doctors from the West Middlesex university hospital, London, in the British Medical Journal.
Knives "of less than 5cm [2ins] in length" or with blunt, round ends would meet culinary needs and be far less likely to result in fatalities.
The doctors, Emma Hern, Will Glazebrook and Mike Beckett, say: "Unfortunately, no data seem to have been collected to indicate how often kitchen knives are used in stabbings, but our own experience and that of police officers and pathologists we have spoken to indicate they are used in at least half of all cases.
"UK government statistics show that 24% of all 16-year-old boys report carrying knives or other weapons, and 19% admitting attacking someone with the intent to cause harm.
"Although other weapons - such as baseball bats, screwdrivers and chains - are also carried, by far the most common weapons are knives."
FFS the world is going potty...
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