We’ve been served notice through the mail that Washington state’s addiction to gambling money is out of control.

We’ve grown accustomed to advertising that touts the state’s various lottery games. We’ve grudgingly accepted that the lottery filled a desire that was already in place.

But how far should the state go in creating that desire? Mailing out coupons for free tickets is going too far.

Washington Lottery says they’ve done this several times before, and that it is a common business practice.

Coupons are certainly commonplace, but the state isn’t a business, and the product isn’t peanut butter.

Should the state, in an effort to raise more money from cigarette and liquor taxes, pass out coupons so people can sample those products in the hopes that they will purchase them?

State leaders can do better than this. If they need more money, they need to gather the courage to raise it in a more legitimate fashion, or to cut their spending back to a level they can afford.

The Legislature just passed a bill that makes it illegal for vendors to give away cigarettes.

The lottery coupons come with this not-so-subtle headline: “If You Throw These Coupons Away You Might Never Forgive Yourself.” It then details some of the dreams that could be fulfilled.

This siren song approach to increasing the number of lottery players leaves out one salient fact: It’s ridiculous to think you can win.

In fine print, the mailer prints the odds of winning any prize for each game. Of course, people don’t play to win any prize. They play to win the kind of dreamy prizes trumpeted in the mailer. The odds for those are astronomical.

The state entered into the lottery in 1982 at the height of a recession. A gambling scandal that netted two top legislators occurred just two years before that. But the need for easy money trumped the arguments about morality and corruption.

It was only last year that the state Legislature agreed to tap some lottery proceeds to address problem gambling.

It was entirely predictable that pressure would mount to increase the funds from the lottery because that’s more palatable to lawmakers than raising taxes or cutting programs.

Lottery revenue is off 5 percent from 2004 to 2005. Washington Lottery has responded with an aggressive business plan.

A few weeks ago, Gov. Chris Gregoire had to torpedo a marketing plan aimed at young adults, who are susceptible to addiction. She called it “pretty dumb.”

So is handing out coupons for free tickets.