Morphine is the prescription of choice for terminal patients. As with all narcotics, the human body adjusts to the taking of it and it needs to be prescribed in ever-increasing doses to begin to alleviate the pain of terminal diseases. It is only partially successful, dulling the pain rather than stopping it, and it also causes takers of heavy doses to be removed from reality mentally.

Accordingly, the quality of life of terminal patients is near nil, while the quality of life of people who love them is grossly impaired while they stay around and watch a person they love die an agonising and usually hideous death over a period of weeks and months. I know, I've seen it. I carried my old man to the toilet for the last days of his life, then carried his body, weighing under 45kg - not bad for a six-footer - single-handedly to the hearse.

Many of these terminally ill people are happy to put up with the pain due to being christians or other religious believers who fervently believe that they cannot commit suicide for any reason, and are also happy in their belief that a god will make it up to them in heaven.

That is their prerogative, however irrational and pointless it may be, but what about those people who accept that they are not going to recover from the disease, nor do they expect any type of "afterlife", who would prefer to be able to die with the dignity of being able to hug/shake hands/kiss their loved ones goodbye before quietly being given a lethal injection of an anaesthetic overdose in a hospital?

Why do we not allow this to happen? Medical professionals can give an assurance that a terminally ill person is indeed going to die. They cannot be terribly accurate as to when it will happen, but once a patient has passed into the decline which always comes with terminal cancer and some other diseases, it is a cast-iron certainty that the person will die. Yet that same medical professional who can sit and tell you that you are indeed dying is not allowed to assist you in doing it with a measure of dignity at a time of your own choosing.

Often, once the sufferer has passed into the terminal decline and has reached the stage where they want the suffering and pain to cease, and to allow relatives to continue on with their lives, they have reached a stage where they are physically unable to commit suicide.

There are, however, a couple of simple options if you're reaching a stage where you'd prefer to be dead rather than put yourself and loved ones through the slow, horrible, death spiral of terminal cancer.

First is a simple method which many people have inadvertently used to kill themselves, carbon monoxide poisoning.

CO poisoning is a great way to go, as evinced by those people who have done it accidentally - the victim starts to feel tired and goes to sleep, never to wake up. Note, I do not mean car exhaust, because that contains all kind of unpleasant chemicals and stinks.

In the past few years, we've seen several examples of people who have had either a gas-powered lamp or heater in an enclosed space and have died through carbon monoxide poisoning. Burning LPG gives off very little in the way of discernable smell, which is why it's bloody dangerous to use gas inside - you must have ventilation or death will result.

It's so easy to do that ending one's life this way is very straightforward.

The ideal place is a walk-in wardrobe as it only has one doorway. Shut yourself in the wardrobe, being sure to place a wet towel at the crack in the bottom of the door to stop oxygen coming in, light the heater and lie down. (Note the later comment regarding plastic sheets)

That's it.

Ensure that whoever is designated to open the door afterwards ensures not breathing in the fumes or they will be instantly rendered unconscious. Open all doors and windows in the main room beforehand, open the wardrobe door and leave to let oxygen replace the CO gas.

Obviously, one needs to ensure that whatever device is used doesn't set fire to the house!

Secondly, enter the "exit-bag". This is a self-use bag is designed to allow the sufferer to place a plastic bag over their head and draw a string tight enough to be airtight, allowing the person to quietly die from asphyxiation. The ideal way is to use a bag full of inert gas as the carbon dioxide build up elicits a panic response, even after unconsciousness, while oxygen deprivation coupled with an inert gas will merely make you sleepy.

Helium is perfect as it's obtainable at any party supply shop

If the patient is too ill to get supplies alone, they will need the assistance of another person, plus often, the sufferer will not have the physical strength to do what is necessary. Also, since exit bags are not readily available for purchase, where do you get one?

If you are in this position and decide to assist someone in getting and tying an exit bag, you can and probably will, be held liable for a charge of manslaughter, and may well be sentenced to a term of imprisonment. You could well end up in jail for an act of love, being incarcerated with people who do not even understand the words love and respect.

Why is this?

The singular reason is that our laws are still based largely on the tenet that a god exists and to end any life before its natural expiration is an affront to that god. It is unlikely, given the power and voice of the churches that these laws will be changed in the near future. Only some few countries such as Holland and Belgium have been able to be grown up enough to allow this kind of compassion, while we in New Zealand sit in the dark ages.

Probably the saddest e mails I ever received come in response to this article - people seeking help with killing themselves.

There is an answer close at hand. If you are terminally ill and have the ability to choose to take your time of exit, make sure that that time is while you are still physically able to perform a few simple tasks unassisted.

Forget trying to order an exit bag and then having to wait for it to arrive from whatever secret warehouse they are stored in, just get your spouse or some other loved one to take a trip to the local supermarket and buy a $2 packet of drawstring rubbish bags. They are made of strong plastic and have an efficient drawstring at the top. He/she will also want to buy a couple of helium bottles from the local party supply shop.

All that is needed is for you to say your goodbyes to your loved ones, then lay down on a chosen plastic sheet (let’s not be afraid to state that dying is often a messy business and that a person usually voids their bladder and bowels at the moment of death – so do you really want to ruin your partner’s nice bed?). n.b. none of this is being facetious in any way, this is death I am talking about, but death being inevitable, practicalities sometimes seem like callousness. Simply fill the rubbish bag with as much helium as it takes. The floating property of helium makes it easier and, so long as the nozzle is fitted over the bunched drawstring, it will work fine. Place the rubbish bag over your head so as to not allow much helium to get out, turn up the bottom couple of inches to ensure an airtight fit, Then draw the strings tight to cut off the air supply. Tie a simple granny-knot in the drawstring and pull it tight. The plastic ties used are strong enough to form a nice airtight fit and the size of the bag is such that you will be able to continue breathing for some minutes as the oxygen is used up.

Given the size of the bag, you will become unconscious from lack of oxygen a few minutes before actually dying so it is important that you arrange for loved ones and carers not to return to the room for at least half an hour. The beauty of this method is also that if you change your mind at the last moment, you can rip the bag open and breathe air again. It is a peaceful way to die, breathing something your body doesn't reject, but can't live on. At least, no frantic struggles have been reported from the many times this method has been used.

If you have reached the terminal stage where you are physically unable to tie the strings and need the assistance of a loved one to tie them for you, make sure that they wear a pair of cloth gloves and hold the strings by holding YOUR hands wrapped around them first. No doctor/pathologist or coroner is going to be able to deliver any verdict other than suicide then.

I would like to say that I hope nobody who ever reads this has to resort to it, but I am a realist as well as an atheist, so it would be a trite comment as there will continue to be an ever-increasing number of people who die from terminal cancer as lives are extended past the use-by date.

Just do it right.