Maybe we could put all the right behaviours into a little book and give everyone a copy.
What colour should we make it red, or black?

Kenny,

What would you charge for the book? An arm or a leg? :)

Seriously though, if someone wants to mutilate themselves then, at least in the eyes of the majority that consist "the norm", that person is somewhat "deranged".

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and drugs may address some of these issues, but people are free to mutilate themselves at they see fit. I once knew a guy that cut off his own finger because he didn't like it. He was also a drug addict, and perpetual criminal. At least to me this indicates a much more serious underlying mental condition

The number of people who want to "harm" themselves by extreme plastic surgery or unneccesary amputation pales into insignificance compared with the huge number who get hooked on tobacco, alcohol and gambling, all of which are promoted incessantly one way or another and can lead to all kinds of problems, frequently including eventual disease and death. And many illegal drugs are readily available, including the ones which create serious health problems.

I acknowledge of course that alcohol and gambling in moderation do not, in themselves, constitute a problem.

And a casual walk around any shopping centre will show that many people are eating themselves to death and training their children into the same deadly habits of unhealthy overeating and inactivity. I read that Kraft Foods, which is owned by Philip Morris Cigarettes, use the same marketing consultants as their tobacco associates to encourage children to overindulge on their sweet biscuits.

Of course, some people go the other way and gradually starve themselves to death.

And how about the constant enticements to borrow money, often for fatuous reasons, which many gullible people have no hope of paying back.

Whatever we think about some of these activities, we have to accept that it's basically a matter of supply and demand in a relatively free society.

We can have empathy with people with self-destructive obsessions and expect adequate education and counseling. But, apart from the financial drain on our health services, they are harming only themselves and those who love them. Which is more than can be said about the large number of people who apparently have an obsession with speed and other dangerous driving practices and who are a danger to the whole community.

As someone who lost a leg (AK) to pneumococcus and has to get around on an artificial leg, I can never understand why someone would voluntarily have a limb amputated.

This article has made me realise what I've been missing all these years.

Thank you, Virginia Tressider.

Seriously though, there are a couple of things people overlook when dealing with issues like this:

1. The definition of harm.

Amputations close off certain avenues in life, and they aren't reversible. Does this constitute harm? These two criteria applied to marriage not so very long ago...

2. The purpose of freedom

As was pointed out above, things like alcohol are legal despite having associated dangers. Personally, I enjoy a drink, and if you took away all the things in life that "might be considered harmful" there'd be nothing left to value in that extra year of lifespan your alleged "safety" bought you.