Councils’ Investment in Tobacco Giants Must Stop, Say Campaigners

Organisations engaged in public welfare invest in the tobacco industry. In southwest England alone, local authorities have invested over £100 million.

Indonesian tobacco farmers protest in Jakarta on July 13, 2011 against a new law which would ban cigarette advertising and sponsorship, prohibit smoking in public and add graphic images to packaging. Around 30 percent of Indonesians above the age of 10 smoke an average of 12 cigarettes a day, according to a 2008 report. And cigarettes are cheap at less than a dollar a pack. According to the World Health Organisation, smoking rates have risen six-fold in Indonesia over the last 40 years. Smoking kills at least 400,000 people every year and another 25,000 die from passive smoking. Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images