Holter on the loose.

(From Off Licence News)

Negative licensing for tobacco retailing has some sort of logic to it, but we should be worried about the detail of the scheme - which basically assumes that anybody is responsible enough to sell cigarettes until it can be proved otherwise.

The word that concerns me here is "proved". Under the new system, stores or individuals who allow under-age sales on three occasions within a two-year period can be banned from selling tobacco for a year.

That puts the focus firmly on test purchasing which, for all its merits, is desperately in need of standardisation. We still hear far too many stories from honest retailers who have been punished for uncharacteristic mistakes and who genuinely feel they are being entrapped.

It will be interesting to see how negative licensing shapes up , because if it's deemed a success, there will be voices inside and outside Parliament suggesting it's applied to alcohol retailers too. It may become harder to justify having two different systems.

Feel the love Doctor Who has the daleks, Brighton & Hove Albion have Crystal Palace and drinks suppliers have Tesco. There's something life-affirming about having hate figures, but there have been some very odd happenings in our industry of late. Tesco has become, well, cuddly.

Of course, the corporate machine at Cheshunt grinds on as ruthlessly as ever, but the drinks team is everybody's new best ...