Suicide capsule

A suicide capsule is a pill that espionage agents and military personnel sometimes carry to prevent secrets from falling into enemy hands during capture. Some terrorists have been known to implant the pill under a tooth so that biting down hard will cause the toxin to be released.

The Central Intelligence Agency began experimenting with the drug saxitoxin as a suicide pill in the 1950s, and it was rumored that they provided it to American U-2 pilots. Saxitoxin is derived from marine plankton and is a thousand times more potent than the nerve gas sarin. It can stifle breathing and cause death in 10 seconds.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon ordered the CIA to destroy its entire stock of saxitoxin, painstakingly collected over several years, as part of the U.S. commitment in accordance with the United Nations agreement on biological weapons.