‘Roaming fireplace’: a tainted lottery prize from the British Heart Foundation | air pollution

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The British Heart Foundation (BHF), which has campaigned on the pollution risks of burning wood at home, has been urged to review the charity raffle for a £3m London townhouse, with a fire pit on the garden terrace and open fires on the property. .

A promotional video shows wood being burned in the metal fire pit on the property in North London and an open fire next to the bathroom. “Soak in your luxurious bathtub and unwind to the crackling sounds of a roaring fireplace,” the promo reads.

The British Heart Foundation has been at the forefront of the campaign to highlight the dangers of open fires. New data published last year found that burning wood in homes produces more small particle pollution than all road traffic in the UK.

The raffle has been widely promoted by the charity in partnership with Omaze, a for-profit fundraising company, where 15 entries can be purchased for £10 and 320 entries can be purchased for £150.

Jemima Hartshorne, founder and director of Mums for Lungs, said the BHF’s decision to raise money in this way was “unfortunate and highlights the lack of awareness of the link between wood burning, air pollution and health”.

A BHF spokesperson said: “Omaze, which operates the Million Pound Draw, is urgently reviewing this matter and we await the outcome of that review.

“As the UK’s leading heart health charity, we have campaigned for legislation to address the health harms caused by air pollution, including its harmful effect on the heart and circulatory system.”

The drug being marketed by BHF is located in Islington, north London, a smoke control area where unauthorized burning of fuel is an offence. Homeowners can be fined up to £1,000 for burning fuel without an exempt device.

The Mayor of London’s website warns: “Open stoves are the most polluting way to burn solid fuels and pose the greatest health risk and should therefore be avoided.”

While total annual emissions in the UK of PM2.5 pollutants, which are small particles hazardous to health, have decreased in recent years, there has been an increase in emissions from wood burning due to the popularity of wood burning stoves and open fires.

The cottage shown in tow has four bedrooms, a garden studio and an outside sitting area. A video on the BHF website, promoted by CEO Dr Charmaine Griffiths, shows what appears to be a log burning in the outdoor fire pit and a fire burning in the living room, with wood logs stored in a container nearby.

The BHF has campaigned to warn people about the dangers of burning wood. “Few people know that for every minute we spend warming ourselves by fire, tiny toxic air pollution particles known as PM2.5 are released into the air, wreaking havoc on our health,” the charity said in a March 2020 blog post.

The government introduced restrictions in May 2021 on the sale of charcoal, wet wood and solid fuels made for home burning. The BHF said at the time that the policy was a “step in the right direction” but that the government needed to move faster to tackle all sources of air pollution.

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Under the agreement with Omaze for the withdrawal, 80% of the net proceeds will go to BHF. Home purchase costs and marketing fees are deducted from the total proceeds. Omaze has guaranteed a minimum total payout of £100,000 for BHF, and the drawing for entries closes online on February 26.

Omaze’s previous raffle in 2021 of a four-storey property in south-west London raised £1 million for BHF. The charity said the partnership with Omaze provided vital income at a time when donations were negatively affected by the pandemic.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Omaze offers participants the chance to win prizes, including real estate, expensive cars, and vacations, with a percentage of the proceeds going to charity. The BHF said Omaze has raised £100m that has gone to support more than 350 charities worldwide.

Founded in 2012 by Matt Paulson and Ryan Cummins, the project has been described as a “celebrity-approved juggernaut.” U2 singer Bono and American football player Tom Brady are reportedly among the investors.

Omaze said it will review the upgrade and “take any appropriate action.” A spokesperson said: “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously.”

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