Letter: Health risks of National Lottery heartstoppers

Sir: As tragic and regrettable as the death of Tomothy O'Brien may be, I cannot agree with the Rev Roger Reed (Letters, 13 April) that the National Lottery itself is to blame, nor that we are all in part guilty of his death by participating in it.

Every week millions choose to purchase Lottery tickets in the full knowledge that the rewards of winning are about as great as the odds against them becoming multi-millionaires. They accept full responsibility for the amount of their own money they decide to spend, and are presumably equally prepared to handle the ramifications of a jackpot win.

The arguments put forward by Mr Reed for the immediate cessation of the Lottery on the grounds that a small minority need to be protected from themselves are symptomatic of the society that we now live in. How unfortunate that individual freedom and responsibility is once again deemed to be of little consequence.

Yours faithfully,

MARTIN GREGORY

Carshalton, Surrey

13 April