![[Smoking horse]](http://0.tqn.com/d/horseracing/1/0/2/9/smoker.gif)
Dateline: 09/11/97
Smoking at the Track/OTB Poll Results
Last week, I asked for your opinions about
smoking at the track or OTB. As expected, there were some very passionate feelings on
this issue from both the smoking and non-smoking camps. There were 66 people who responded
to the poll. Here is a breakdown of the answers:
|
Category |
| Never smoked |
39% |
| Former smoker |
38% |
| Light cigar smoker |
0% |
| Light cigarette smoker |
9% |
| Light pipe smoker |
2% |
| Heavy cigar smoker |
0% |
| Heavy cigarette smoker |
8% |
| Heavy pipe smoker |
0% |
| Other |
5% |
|
|
Smoke Problems? |
| None |
41% |
| Asthma |
5% |
| Allergy |
9% |
| Other breathing problem |
0% |
| Former smoker, can't stand it now |
15% |
| Just don't like smoke |
21% |
| Other |
9% |
|
|
Should tracks/OTBs provide a
non-smoking area? |
| Yes |
95% |
| No |
5% |
| No opinion |
0% |
|
|
Does the track/OTB you attend most often
provide a non-smoking area? |
| Yes |
61% |
| No |
26% |
| Don't know |
12% |
|
|
Should the entire track/OTBs be made
non-smoking? |
| Yes |
33% |
| No |
61% |
| No opinion |
5% |
|
|
Should tracks/OTBs be allowed to sell
cigars and/or cigarettes? |
| Yes |
61% |
| No |
30% |
| No opinion |
9% |
|
The respondants were from tracks all over the country. You may view
a list of all the locations here.
There were some very strong opinions expressed by some people. If you
want to read a sampling of them, check here.
This issue is a very sensitive one to most people. My personal feeling
is that a truly smoke free area should be provided to those who want or need one.
Currently many of the so-called non-smoking areas are not separated at all
from the smoking areas so the entire space is filled with smoke. This is
not so bad at tracks open to the air or with very large stands, but
the small, enclosed tracks can sometimes look like a fog bank has decended
because the ventilation is so bad, even though the number of people
smoking isn't that high.
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