Trainspotting opens with two men racing down the street; in the background, we hear a male voice making a persuasive speech that exhorts listeners to "choose life" and all the best it has to offer. We are also introduced to some of the main characters, including Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. However, at the end of the scene, Renton says, "I chose not to choose life. I chose something else and the reasons - there are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got health?"

Later, in an apartment, Renton and his friends do drugs and make out with each other. Renton's voice explains that he and his friends are not completely stupid. He describes how the sensation of doing drugs, particularly shooting heroin, easily tops even the best possible orgasm. If you aren't stoned, Renton explains, then you also have to...