A leading health watchdog has thrown its weight behind the campaign to compel Merseyside councils to quit investment links with the tobacco industry.

Town halls across the county have a £5bn pension pot which includes investments in several tobacco companies such as Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco.

In April, the Globe exclusively revealed more than £80m of the pension fund was still being invested in so-called “Big Tobacco” - despite town halls taking over responsibility for public health.

With more than 3,000 deaths each year in Merseyside caused by cigarettes, one of the councils' key duties is to drive down smoking rates.

The chief executive of heath group Heart of Mersey, Robin Ireland, today urged the authorities to pull their money out of the industry.

Mr Ireland said: “Smoking remains the biggest individual cause of premature death across Merseyside; it does seem inappropriate in the extreme that local authorities are associated with tobacco companies.

“By investing in tobacco firms they are investing in an industry that creates enormous costs to the NHS, causes sickness, absenteeism and premature death.”

He continued: “Local authorities need to ensure the situation is not allowed to continue.

"There is an important financial side to this; we need people with expertise to identify how funds can be shifted.

“I believe this can be done. There are other industries open for investment. The present investment in tobacco companies is entirely inappropriate.

“The other issue is whether the tobacco industry is still a strong investment. One would hope that in this and other counties it becomes less viable because more people decide to give up smoking.”

Tobacco Free Futures – a group funded by public health cash to cut smoking rates - revealed that smoking killed around 3,000 people on Merseyside every year.

Chief executive Andrea Crossfield said: “Over 294,000 people in Merseyside smoke and addiction to tobacco in Merseyside cost the local economy £484m last year through NHS costs, lost work output , litter and fires.

“It is therefore entirely inappropriate that local authority pension funds are associated with tobacco stocks and an industry that ultimately kills half of it long-term users.”

Wirral Council is the administering authority with overall responsibility for the fund, which it delegates to its pensions committee.

The group comprises 10 Wirral councillors with representation from five other principal employers and three trade unions representing beneficiaries’ interests.

A spokesman for Merseyside Pensions Fund said they were working closely with other local government pensions funds – through the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum – to develop a better understanding of issues and concerns arising and to seek ways to support common objectives with public health colleagues.

The spokesman said: “The fund is signed up to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment, which incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance factors into decision-making.

“We believe this enables us, as active long-term shareholders, to encourage best practice and hold companies to account for their activities.”

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HEART OF MERSEY

Heart of Mersey is England’s largest regional cardiovascular health charity working across Merseyside and Cheshire and beyond to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and related conditions such as cancer, diabetes and stroke.

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in the UK killing more than 40,000 people every year and 80% of these deaths are preventable. In Cheshire and Merseyside, CVD rates are much higher than the national average, as well as being a major contributor to health inequalities.

The charity works with a wide range of partners to conduct research, improve nutrition, reduce the harm from tobacco and encourage physically active lifestyles through effective public health policy development, lobbying and advocacy at local, national and international levels.

Heart of Mersey is a member of the Health Equalities Group which also includes the charity's social enterprise partners HM Partnerships and the European Healthy Stadia Network.