FOLLOWING the Haringey Council scrutiny review of events in Finsbury Park, the Council Cabinet decided late last year to approve another tobacco sales facility for customers at the next Wireless Concert.
This followed the recommendations of the council's watch-dog, the Scrutiny Committee. The Committee successfully resisted the thrust of representations of the lobby group ASH and from the Borough's Director of Public Health.
The Cabinet's unanimous decision should again provide the kind of outlet and high-profile event that is so valued by the cigarette and rolling-tobacco industry.
The industry has been under pressure of late and Haringey-London—working together with their partner Live Nation—continue to do their bit to relieve it and to enhance customers' experience.
Last year's Tobacco Pavilion in Finsbury Park provided a range of products for the mainly youthful audience that numbered between 40,000 to 50,000, some of whom won't yet be using the industry's fare.
2016 will be third year running that our Local Government has given their seal of approval. What will be especially welcomed by the industry is that Wireless for Summer 2016 may be bigger and longer, with enriched commercial appeal.
The map above shows the spread of existing customers in the Borough, with the healthiest consumer-concentrations in the east.
CDC
Haringey Councillor
Liberal Democrat Party
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, fofp, friends of finsbury park, wireless
is what Clive says in the opening of this subject correct, "the Council Cabinet decided late last year to approve another tobacco sales facility for customers at the next Wireless Concert.", if they do not have the power to either approve or refuse?
Michael, yours is the best question in this thread.
You've hit the nail on the head. The right of the Council to agree to sales had been a matter of obfuscation—if not active misleading—for a year and more.
This matter was finally clarified at the meeting Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on Monday 19 October (here).
The Committee's discussion of tobacco sales at Wireless begins in this webcast at 01:14:00 and your point is dealt with about a minute later.
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To summarise, it had been repeatedly implied that the Council was powerless and was somehow contractually bound, or the sale was a condition of the Licence. Finally, under questioning, a Council Officer reveals that—as one would expect given that the Council is owner landlord and freeholder—it's up to the Council to choose.
The Council has an absolute right to allow tobacco sales on their land and they exercised that right at the Cabinet meeting on 15th December (Recommendation 13).
The Council's conduct—in choosing to approve cigarette sales at Wireless—is lawful. Hope that's clear.
Smokers exhale smoke which causes cancer in those breathing it in, that's why.
Smokers can't do anything about their secondary smoke. We are invested with amazing powers of self control by legislators. Rather than put speed limiting devices in all motorcars (e.g. seatbelt legislation) we just put up signs indicating the maximum allowable speed and presume that people with behave "legally".
And there seems to be no concern about damage to the hearing of those attending, let alone neighbouring residents.
Anoinette, yes; and there is a lot of tax on cigarettes and it's this aspect that makes their sales attractive to the authorities.
Here's a shot of one of the price lists taken at last year's Haringey Council-Live Nation-Wireless Tobacco Pavilion, by someone else with a powerful telephoto lens during the set-up (click to enlarge):
Tobacco products: price list
Cigarettes
Camel Blue 20s £8.00
B&H Dual 20s £7.90
B&H xxxxx £7.50
Mayfair King Size 19g £7.00
Mayfair Smooth 19s £7.00
Sterling King Size £6.90
?
B&H Blue xxx £8.00
B&H Sky Blue 18s £6.90
Hand rolling tobacco
Amber Leaf 3 in 1 12.5g £4.00
It's not easy to read even when enlarged. This is a best guess at the descriptions and prices and may not be accurate. There is certainly a lot of money in tobacco products.
Note the coloured swirly stuff at the right. Haringey Council's Cabinet are trying to tone down the exuberance of the Tobacco Pavilion for this year's Wireless.
Antoinette you said above that there's a lot of tax on cigarettes (god knows they pay enough tax for the pleasure. ... £6.17 of the cost of a packet of 20 is tax).
I'm agreeing with you. I don't claim that Haringey Council receive the tax revenue on the sale of cigarettes at Wireless (or anywhere else for that matter).
To the best of my knowledge, the Council does not receive any of the profits from the sale of cigarettes at the festival: however:
The Tobacco Pavilion is an essential part of Live Nation's offer and the Council receives a sizeable fee for the loan of the park. Therefore, there is an indirect benefit to Council coffers.
There's a great deal of money in tobacco, as I've noted elsewhere.
The most recent action by the Council (Friday's Tobacco Control Pledge) is aimed at clamping down on those sales that do not benefit the Exchequer or the official tobacco industry.
The Council is concerned about "cheap, illegal tobacco" :
The report found that 37 percent of smokers in Haringey had been offered cheap tobacco, with more than 16 percent reporting this happened on a weekly basis.
(from the Control Pledge; my emphasis)
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