They must be so proud—the ghouls who give people moral permission to kill themselves and then teach them how to do it with helium. Now, enough people are doing themselves in with this method that the increase is reflected in UK death statistics. From the Guardian story:
Inert gas helium and barbiturates led to more deaths last year than ecstasy, cannabis, mephedrone and GHB, figures show. According to Office for National Statistics data released on Wednesday, the number of deaths mentioning barbiturates increased from six in 2007 to 37 in 2011, the highest number since 1996, despite the number of prescriptions for barbiturates more than halving over this period. Over the same period, deaths involving helium have risen from two to 42…
Almost all of those who died taking barbiturate and helium were recorded as suicides. Helium in particular has seen a steep rise in its use. Between 1993 and 2007 just 18 people died using the gas. The gas has become a feature of both literature and public policy debate in the last 20 years as the row over right-to-die has become more intense.
Culture of death, Wesley? What culture of death?
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