Pit Fiend Venom: is it a Death Effect?

[The Great Wyrm]

MM 58, Dungeonscape 129:

Pit Fiend Venom: Injury, DC 27: 1d6 Con/Death

As a DM, I'm wondering if the secondary damage counts as a death effect. (Also, if it does, would an [Ex] attack be stopped by death ward, which says it stops "magical death effects"?). I'm inclined to say it doesn't, but is there any official (or widely accepted unofficial) ruling on this?

[Beheld]

Weirdly, even though almost everything is labeled as a death effect, and Death Ward applies to magical death effects, the glossary entries talk about death attacks, and give a completely unhelpful definition that you can't tell is supposed to be inclusive of all things that meet the requirements or not.

Ultimately, by RAW, I would say that the Poison is not a magical effect, so death ward doesn't apply.

I think the "correct" rules are that some things that kill you aren't death effects at all, and the poison should count as that.

If you personally are worried about dying... well it triggers one minute after you get hit, so just kill the Pit Fiend, then have someone polymorph you into an Elemental.

[Chronos]

It's a death effect if it has the [death] tag, or if it otherwise explicitly says so. Most death effects kill instantly if successful, and most things that kill instantly if successful are death effects, but there are exceptions both ways. For instance, a vorpal sword (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#vorpal) is not a death effect (despite having a necromantic aura and being made using a [death] spell), but a slaying arrow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#slayingArrow) is, because it says so. Similarly, Implosion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/implosion.htm) is not a death effect, but the very similar Wail of the Banshee (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wailOfTheBanshee.htm) is.

[The Great Wyrm]

OK, so it's not a death effect, and death ward wouldn't help, but neutralize poison (or turning into an elemental) would.