| Whenever I see anyone buying a National
Lottery ticket I want to stop them and ask if they know just where their money
is going. The lottery money is supposed to go to charity—but it makes me angry to see some of the socalled "good causes" it's being used to support. Also, Camelot, the organizers, have made a profit of ￡3 10.8 million in five months. We hear now that a lot of that money is boosting the pay packets of the company's bosses. For the past 10 years I've been helping to raise funds for a cancer research charity called Tenovus. My husband, Sandy, died from cancer 11 years ago—he was only 51. There's been a long line of deaths in our family through cancer and it's been devastating. I've also lost two sisters-in-law, my brother, Michael, my father-in-law and my father. That's apart from several close friends. The charity is 50 years old now and raises money mainly for breast cancer research. It also runs a support line for the families of cancer sufferers. Our local group raises money through dances, sales and coffee morning, and all the funds go directly to cancer research. In 1993 Tenovus raised 1￡3 million--and half that money came from sales of our own lottery tickets at supermarkets. But out income has dropped by half since the National Lottery was introduced. I'm not against people playing the National Lottery, but they should think about what they're doing. The chances of winning the jackpot are so small; they might as well throw their money away. The Government tells us that the proceeds are going to things like the arts and sports, but what about the National Health Service? They should give some cash to that, too. How can they justify spending ridiculous amounts of cash on so-called works of art—like displays of potatoes—or buying up Winston Churchill's papers at a cost of ￡12 million? So who really are the winners in the National Lottery? When I think of all that money people could be donating to cancer research, I could weep. It's time people realized bow charities across the country are suffering because of the National Lottery. It's disheartening and so infuriating. |