Quebec suicides linked to gambling

MONTREAL, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Preliminary statistics released by the provincial agency that oversees Quebec lotteries and gambling has linked suicides to gambling, Montreal media reported.

In December, the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered all of the Loto-Quebec agency's internal investigations and emergency response information made public with regard to gambling in one of the province's three casinos, CTV News reported.

Tuesday, the agency released information up to 2002 that cited two suicides, six attempted suicides and a number of heart attacks, the network said. It said it will issue more recent statistics soon.

However, the Quebec coroner's office issued a statement with very different numbers. It said that from 2000 and 2005, there were 175 suicides related to gambling but not directly linked to the casinos.

Gambling opponent Sol Boxenbaum said the numbers were likely much higher than either Loto-Quebec's or the coroner's.

"It doesn't matter to me whether the person commits suicide in the building or whether they go home and commit suicide in their basement or garage. It's still a life lost," he told the broadcaster.