Pokye

The Honesty Button Or How The Co-Op Passed The Buck

It is against the law in England to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 or tobacco products to anyone under the age of 16. Any sales assistant or shopkeeper found flouting these rules could face prosecution and a stiff fine. It is, if I understand it correctly, up to the sales assistant to make a decision on the age of a purchaser and, if challenged, up to the young purchaser to prove their age.

The Co-Operative supermarket chain however, appears to have a new weapon in their armoury to combat illegal sales to minors as I discovered yesterday when I wandered in to a store in Colchester to purchase a pack of cigarettes. Affixed to the counter were two buttons (which I have simulated in the image right although I can’t guarantee the wording). Before she handed me the cigarette packet I had to press the button most appropriate to my situation. I, somewhat stunned, pressed the green button and the purchase was made.

I cannot be alone in thinking this is rather a bizarre and buck-passing method of checking on the legal age of a youngster coming in for his nights lager. If I was 17 and desperate to drink myself silly on the streets then I’m unlikely to press the bloody red button am I? But I assume that by pressing the wrong one I am absolving the sales assistant from her legal responsibility. She can say if legally challenged - and it’s probably linked to the till receipt - ‘…well - he pressed the green button did’n ‘e? How was I s’posed to know ‘e was only 6?‘.

After I left the store I got to wondering. I should have checked out the pharmacy counter and looked for the button that said ‘I am over 16 and legally allowed to have sex with a partner who is also over 16 so just sell me the damn condoms.