Supermarkets shouldn't sell unpleasant fireworks for New Year parties - here's why: Letters

From: William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire.
The Yorkshire Post Letters
By The Yorkshire Post Letters
Published 1st Dec 2023, 10:33 GMT

With the November 5 racket past, soon New Year’s environmentally unfriendly fireworks displays will be upon us, causing noise and air pollution, littering, scaring wild and domestic animals and affecting veterans and others with PTSD.

Last month, the CEO of Help for Heroes, James Needham, and the CEO of Combat Stress, Jeff Harrison, jointly wrote to the Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch to request a review into fireworks use.

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They wrote that “sudden loud noises, unexpected flashes, and the smell of fireworks can bring back painful and traumatic memories of combat”.

A man carries a package of fireworks he purchased at a supermarket on December 29, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)A man carries a package of fireworks he purchased at a supermarket on December 29, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
A man carries a package of fireworks he purchased at a supermarket on December 29, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

It’s good to see that some retailers have stopped selling fireworks, including the Co-op and Sainsbury’s, and it’s high time others acted responsibly.

Retailers should ask themselves if it isn’t time to listen to veterans and stop selling these unpleasant products.

Related topics:Kemi BadenochBerwickshireRetailersPTSD

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