Creator of controversial suicide pod ‘Dr Death’ made several similar contraptions before

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing

The Australian man responsible for creating a controversial 'suicide pod' used for the first time in September has previously spoken out about some of the other life-ending ideas he's come up with.

Nicknamed 'Dr Death' due to his morbid pursuits, Dr. Philip Nitschke has been in the public eye a lot in recent weeks due to the first-ever use of his Sarco 'suicide pod'.

The pod has been designed to help terminally ill people end their lives on their own terms, and on September 23 a 64-year-old American woman did exactly that.

The terminally ill American woman was the first to use the pod (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

The use of the pod in a remote area of Switzerland led to the arrest of several people involved, and while Nitschke himself is still free, it's far from the first time he has come up with a contraption to end someone's life.

In 2002, more than two decades before the Sarco pod was first put to use, Nitschke spoke out about another of his creations, known as the 'Exit Bag'.

For only a small amount of money, the hood-shaped plastic bag was created to allow terminally ill people to end their lives on their terms.

In an article published by ABC News at the time, Nitschke said: "Most people object to the horrible and grotesque death by tying something around your neck. It's not physiologically distasteful, but it is an aesthetically distasteful death."

Dr. Philip Nitschke is an advocate for euthanasia (David Mariuz/Getty Images)

In 2009, Nitschke told a crowd in England the Exit Bag worked differently than 'just get[ting] a bag and put[ting] it over your head'; a choice that he said would be 'very, very unpleasant'.

Prior to his speech, he told ABC News: "We tell them about how they can control the gas flow using a fitting [with the Exit Bag]... This is peaceful, it's quick, it works."

One month before he addressed the crowd in the UK, Nitschke was detained at London's Heathrow Airport for 11 hours as he carried another potential route to suicide; drug-testing kits which could make sure that drugs were strong enough to kill.

Immigration officials debated on the nature of his work, but it was ultimately decided that Nitschke was merely providing information about suicide and did not encourage people to take their own lives.

Nitschke has spoken candidly about life-ending methods (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

Though Nitschke was not arrested following the death of the woman in the Sarco pod, he made his involvement with the project clear as he described how the woman 'really wanted to die'.

Speaking to de Volkskrant, the creator said: "When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button [that would end her life]."

"She didn't say anything. She really wanted to die. My estimate is that she lost consciousness within two minutes and that she died after five minutes."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.