WE live in convenient times in more ways than one. We can binge on fast food, smoke ourselves to a kipper and drink to unconsciousness whenever we have a mind to.

And not only is it not our fault but there are ways to bail us out.

Even though obesity levels have never been higher and set to rocket, presumably until we pop, the message to eat less and make our diet healthier is still not getting through.

There is a simple equation here - food in equals activity out - that is completely ignored by a proportion of the population which is increasing in every way.

We know that nicotine is bad for us, causing a whole raft of health problems for ourselves and anyone within exhaling distance of us, but millions carry on happily puffing away every day with not a thought for what pumping smoke into flesh will do.

Increasingly worrying figures tell us that we drink too much, and that the adult message is being comfortably passed on to our children some of whom now have alcohol problems at 12. Again, there is a health price to pay for this excess, but who cares?

The health service is there to keep us well, isn't it? It's not our job to look after ourselves - what cheek!

Now, we can have operations to staple our stomachs if we overeat dramatically, suck out disgusting amounts of fat and remodel our figures, not by exercise but by carving off the excess flesh under anaesthetic.

Some of this we may have to pay for ourselves. And perhaps that is the answer.

If we had a health service which assessed our own contributory factors to ill-health - even a type of yellow then red card warning system - then our attitudes might well be different.

In other words, if we eat or drink to excess or smoke heavily, it counts against us when related health problems strike. And we have to pay up if we want treatment.

Do you think finally that might get the message across that our health lies in our hands and not someone else's, or is that just too radical?