Norfolk Council insists on retaining tobacco investments

It is not entirely clear from this who (if anyone) is challenging Norfolk Council. But they have decided that changes to their investment policy would probably only come if the law changed – they are responsible for the health of pensions:

“This [smoking], I must admit, is anti-social but it’s a long way from child labour and so forth. 

“Where does it end? We are here to earn, or the pension fund to earn, enough money for people to retire from work.”

We are not in an age of plenty. I agree that Norfolk should keep its pensions fund in tobacco, since their responsibility is to get the best return. But if Norfolk Council relies on it and the Welsh government can take advantage of it, why should everyone else be prevented from taking financial benefits from the fact that people smoke. Anti-smokers and tobacco control advocates don't hesitate to complain at the faintest suggestion that their opponents might in some way benefit from tobacco funds, when they take a huge cut in tobacco sales. No one relies on the funds from tobacco more than the authorities that wish to denormalise smoking!