The title of the thread is telling. We in the West expect medical miracles on demand, and some would say we're happy to offload personal responsibility for our health onto them. Except in rare cases (often emergency medicine) we have more say in our health than doctors. We're capable of doing far more damage to ourselves than any doctor could ever hope to fix.
I hope your friend will change his ways. It's sad to see someone so young dying of self inflicted wounds, especially when they don't really understand what they're doing.