WINNING the lottery is bad for your health even though it makes you happy, research revealed yesterday.
Jackpot winners drink and smoke too much as they celebrate their good fortune and enjoy their new-found wealth.
They end up having "worse lifestyles" and suffer long-term health problems.
Researcher Andrew Clark, of the Paris School of Economics, studied 8,000 Brits who won major Lotto prizes between 1994 and 2005.
He said: "Winning big does indeed improve mental health. However, those who win more, smoke more, and engage in more social drinking."
Tragic lottery winners include jobless carpenter Phil Kitchen, from Worcestershire, who drank himself to death aged 58 three years after his ?1.8 million win in 1999.
Wayne Thompson, from Bristol, blew most of his ?125,000 winnings on booze - and the rest on rehab.
Psychologist Dr Dorothy Rowe said that a windfall just makes existing problems worse.
She added: "You've got more money to spend on things you like, which may be alcohol or cigarettes.
"And you might think you can pay your way out of health problems by going to the best doctors."
Jackpot winners drink and smoke too much as they celebrate their good fortune and enjoy their new-found wealth.
They end up having "worse lifestyles" and suffer long-term health problems.
Researcher Andrew Clark, of the Paris School of Economics, studied 8,000 Brits who won major Lotto prizes between 1994 and 2005.
He said: "Winning big does indeed improve mental health. However, those who win more, smoke more, and engage in more social drinking."
Tragic lottery winners include jobless carpenter Phil Kitchen, from Worcestershire, who drank himself to death aged 58 three years after his ?1.8 million win in 1999.
Wayne Thompson, from Bristol, blew most of his ?125,000 winnings on booze - and the rest on rehab.
Psychologist Dr Dorothy Rowe said that a windfall just makes existing problems worse.
She added: "You've got more money to spend on things you like, which may be alcohol or cigarettes.
"And you might think you can pay your way out of health problems by going to the best doctors."
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