Big winners may face 'worse lifestyles'

Winning the lottery will make you happier, but your life of luxury might be cut short. Excessive partying, with too much smoking and drinking, may cause long-term health problems for many who land the jackpot, research shows.

What economists call a "positive income shock" leads to better mental health, but it also triggers "worse lifestyles". And the bigger the win, the riskier people's behaviour.

"Lottery wins might not be good for your physical health because you party too much," said Andrew Clark, of the Paris School of Economics, one of the researchers. "Winning big does indeed improve mental health; however, we uncovered counteracting health effects with respect to risky behaviours.

Those who win more, smoke more and engage in more social drinking."

The study used data on around 8000 people who won big-money prizes in the UK between 1994 and 2005.

Clark, who will be presenting the paper at an Institute of Social and Economic Research conference this week, added: "Much work has shown that, in general, higher income is associated with more favourable health outcomes. Our results nuance this empirical fact."

There are many examples of winners who have overdosed on hedonism.

Dr Dorothy Rowe, a psychologist and author of The Real Meaning of Money, said, "You've got more money to spend on the things you like, which may be alcohol or cigarettes. When you win a big prize, you don't change as a person. A lot of people don't drink much, simply because they haven't got the money. Also, you might think that if you get health problems you will be able to pay your way out of them by going to the best doctors."

Not all winners succumb to a party lifestyle. According to an Ipsos Mori poll of British national lottery winners, 55 per cent said they put the kettle on when they realised they had won; 11 per cent opened the champagne.

The survey shows many winners consider themselves healthier after their win, with 27 per cent losing weight, 17 per cent playing more sport and 27 per cent joining a gym.

Julie and Chris Jeffery, from Watford, won £1 million in 2002. Both still work - Julie as a part-time cook, Chris as a kitchen planner.

"Although we can do more nice things, our day-to-day lives haven't changed," said Julie. "If we'd given up work, it would be easier to drink more. I like champagne but I've found this great gadget - a stopper, so one bottle lasts me five nights."

CAUTIONARY TALES OF BIG WINNERS

PHIL KITCHEN
Won: £1.8 million ($4.54 million) on the UK national lottery in 1999.
What happened: He drank himself to death after winning. At the time, he was an unemployed carpenter and had borrowed £5 from a friend to buy cigarettes and a lottery ticket. He moved to a £500,000 country house in Worcestershire, with a tennis court and a boathouse, but was soon bingeing on whisky and died in 2002, aged 58. The cause of death was given as self-neglect.

WAYNE THOMPSON
Won: £125,000 through his work syndicate in Bristol in 1999.
What happened: His drinking became out of control. Occasional weekend sessions, during which he would drink eight pints, turned into nightly binges involving three times as much. When he was down to his last £36,000, he came to his senses and spent nearly all he had left drying out at the Priory clinic. "Most of the money has gone - but it was fun while it lasted," he told a newspaper in 2001. "Anyway, there are more important things than money."

VIVIAN NICHOLSON
Won: £152,300 playing Castleford football pools in 1961.
What happened: The Times reports that since winning she has been widowed, married five times, suffered from a stroke and been treated for alcoholism, deported from Malta, became a Jehovah's Witnesses, tried to commit suicide and spent time in a mental institution. She is now living on £87 a week pension.

EVELYN ADAMS
Won: US$4.4 million by winning the New Jersey lottery twice in the 1980s.
What happened: The Times reports that she gambled away her fortune and lives in a trailer.

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