Lottery juggling whether to ban smoking at ticket outlets

Comment #12

Stack47 — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:42:25 GMT

I just think its inappropriate to try to leverage the lottery or have the lottery be the ADA enforcement arm of government. Lotteries are (or should be) sales and marketing (revenue generating) entities.

Some of the retail locations I've been to in the Houston area have bullet holes in the walls...second-hand smoke was the least of my concerns.

I wouldn't be shocked if I read a story where somebody had an asthma attack while robbing a store and then sued that store because it didn't... [ More ]

Comment #11

Drivedabizness — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:13:01 GMT

Folks all over the country have already used suits against lotteries as the foil to make retailers provide access under ADA - hardly the purpose approved of by any voter I know.

I AM NOT saying that disability laws should not be enforced - I just think its inappropriate to try to leverage the lottery or have the lottery be the ADA enforcement arm of government. Lotteries are (or should be) sales and marketing (revenue generating) entities. If businesses hold a license to conduct commerci... [ More ]

Comment #10

Stack47 — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:25:12 GMT

I thought you were talking about Billy Williams.

Ohio is a non-smoking state too but the voters decided that, not the Ohio Lottery. Texas seems to believe they could lose a lawsuit to Williams using the Americans with Disabilities Act because they sell tickets in places where smoking is allowed. I'm wondering what would happen if the took their machines out of all those smoking stores.

Many of the Cheers like bars in Ohio are closing because everybody that knows your name are smokers.... [ More ]

Comment #9

justxploring — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:43:09 GMT

Stack, I never said I have a problem buying lottery tickets. Did you read a word I wrote? To answer your second question, I buy tickets at a lot of places including Publix, Albertsons Sweetbay (supermarkets) Mobil, Shell Sunoco. Publix is the place I go more often since I buy my groceries there 90% of the time. In brief, I purchase my tickets where I happen to be at the time. It's rare that I drive somewhere just to buy a lottery ticket, although I've done that a few times. Then I go to... [ More ]

Comment #8

Stack47 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:32:44 GMT

Have you ever heard anybody say they get their lottery tickets at a certain store because they have the option of smoking the 2 or 3 minutes they are in the store?

If the lottery commission really wants to protect their players from secondary smoke, they should stop selling tickets in any stores that sell tobacco products.

Comment #7

cv844 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:41:26 GMT

I dont know where they buy their tickets at , but every store that I buy my tickets at dont allow smoking in the store , the clerks stand outside of the store and smoke.

Comment #6

Stack47 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:45:44 GMT

So even if smoking was allowed in retail establishments, I would have a choice of where to go.

I can't remember the last time I saw someone smoking in any stores that sell lottery tickets. I wonder how many hundreds of stores they went to before they finally found somebody smoking so they could have something to complain about. And it's possible the person smoking wasn't even buying lottery tickets.

It's about my right not to get headaches or have trouble catching my breath.

Where do... [ More ]

Comment #5

KY Floyd — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:22:49 GMT

The idea is ridiculous, but since conventional medical opinion now considers alcoholism to be a disease, it's a perfectly good comparison to asthmatics and smoking. The alcoholic, the asthmatic, and people who just want to avoid secondhand smoke presumably all have other options for where to buy lottery tickets. They also have other options for where to buy any of the other items that are sold, but the common issue is that what is permitted in stores shouldn't be the lottery commission's proble... [ More ]

Comment #4

justxploring — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:54:48 GMT

No comparison! I do agree with ScaryChick that there are probably dozens of stores in which to buy tickets, at least where I live. So even if smoking was allowed in retail establishments, I would have a choice of where to go. However, not everyone has that choice. I don't see why people need to light up during the 2 minutes they're in a store anyway. Even though it's banned here, people still do it as they're exiting and I don't like inhaling their toxic fumes. Sometimes I have to walk by a st... [ More ]

Comment #3

psykomo — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:37:52 GMT

>>>>>>with this recent opinion of

the .......A. General o!o^

if this law not

passed now and in a HURRY>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

the Great State of Texas may be in more DANGER than all KNOW

because,.................................he has the vision to see how much

the people of TEXAS really needs his POWER to PROTECT them!

He want and can't tell the citizen's of Texas about the up cum'in

law suit from Mexico to return all territory back to the citizen's of

that... [ More ]

Comment #2

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:42:30 GMT

This seems silly. Isn't there hundreds of stores that someone can go t to buy tickets that don't allow smoking? There is not one store that I buy tickets from that allows people to smoke, but maybe that is because I'm not in Texas.

Comment #1

chasingadream — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:29:05 GMT

whats next.... the recovering alcoholics not wanting tickets sold in liquor stores because they might be tempted to have a sip

Lottery juggling whether to ban smoking at ticket outlets

Lottery Post — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:56:00 GMT

The Texas Lottery Commission is considering a ban on selling tickets in stores that allow smoking after a recent attorney general's opinion suggested the practice could open the state to civil rights lawsuits.

Anti-smoking and civil rights advocates urged the commission at a meeting Wednesday to re-evaluate how it licenses vendors and to not allow smoking where tickets are sold.

They are concerned that secondhand smoke prevents people with disabilities or illnesses related to smoke from bu... [ More ]