County hall's support for tobacco firms (From Harwich and Manningtree Standard)
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County hall's support for tobacco firms
6:00pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in News
TOBACCO firms are boosted by more than £6 million of investment by Essex County Council - despite the authority running anti-smoking campaigns.
The council’s staff pension fund is invested in part in cigarette-makers, who are set to report billions of pounds in profit for the past year.
From April the county council takes on responsibility for public health, and last month confirmed smoking was one of its priorities.
It had been suggested last summer the council would ask the pension fund board to review its investment programme in light of the new role, but a spokesman confirmed the £6.56 million investment has not been changed in the past year.
