Quote Originally Posted by Witton Park View Post
I'm surprised you could mention cigarettes. Cigarettes / smoking aren't a condition even if they are a contributory factor, because otherwise you could go back in to someone's life in real detail.

For example if someone committed suicide, I'd expect perhaps overdose of cocodamol (for example) but not "following earlier loss of spouse".

It would seem a a step farther than was appropriate for a death ecrtificate.
When it comes to cigarette smoking, I would disagree - smoking is an addiction, a medical condition in itself. But yes, what goes on a death certificate has subjective elements to it, and for decades smoking was never mentioned.
In the unfortunate case of a suicide, this verdict would be decided at a Coroner's inquest, and the possibility of a bereavement contributing to this would be discussed.