Well this doesn’t come as any surprise to us at Enola Gaye. Ultimately if you are a flare wielding or smoke grenade waving socialite that likes to up his (or her) popularity on Instagram by making others choke then this new law applies to you.
We like smoke grenades, so much so, we’ve build a worldwide distribution for them. However we stand by our original message that is printed on the side of the product which is ‘Don’t be a Dick’. This very simple statement is supposed to sum up all types of misuse of our products in a simple sentence. The only problem is this maybe it is too subtle for some people. You probably have to read between the lines, metaphorically speaking.
A smoke grenade is a product that emits smoke. Whilst we design our products to be non-toxic, it’s still smoke and there are many people who don’t wish to breath smoke. Smoke grenades used in areas where people can easily move away to fresh air is acceptable, using them in densely populated areas like festivals or stadiums is not OK. We’ve always asked our users to be sensible. Adding to that, even open areas are not always acceptable so a level of sense needs to be applied to the usage, hence our second well known statement ‘we don’t sell to idiots’. Products are designed for private land, or in areas designed for this type of use. The last thing you want to do is create unnecessary concern or panic with bellows of smoke, so always use common sense.
So to clarify the latest addition to the laws in the UK we have posted it below. Nothing much has changed with regards to correct use. You can still use them on paintball and airsoft fields, you can still use them at your photo shoots, just don’t create any concern from onlookers. It’s simple really…
Organisers of music events can continue to use smoke as part of the stage effects, the law simply applies to individuals in the crowd. Enola Gaye supply many of the big festival organisers for daytime effects such as Boomtown in Wiltshire and Electric Daisy in Las Vegas.
Here’s the UK Legislation…enjoy
134 Possession of pyrotechnic articles at musical events
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)It is an offence for a person to have a pyrotechnic article in his or her possession at any time when the person is—
(a)at a place where a qualifying musical event is being held, or
(b)at any other place that is being used by a person responsible for the organisation of a qualifying musical event for the purpose of—
(i)regulating entry to, or departure from, the event, or
(ii)providing sleeping or other facilities for those attending the event.
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply—
(a)to a person who is responsible for the organisation of the event, or
(b)to a person who has the article in his or her possession with the consent of a person responsible for the organisation of the event.
(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks (or, in relation to offences committed before section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 comes into force, 3 months), or to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or to both.
(4)In this section, “pyrotechnic article” means an article that contains explosive substances, or an explosive mixture of substances, designed to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke, or a combination of such effects, through self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions, other than—
(a)a match, or
(b)an article specified, or of a description specified, in regulations made by statutory instrument by the Secretary of State.
(5)In this section, “qualifying musical event” means an event at which one or more live musical performances take place and which is specified, or of a description specified, in regulations made by statutory instrument by the Secretary of State.
(6)A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.