Gordon Brown will unveil a crackdown on teenage alcohol abuse this week in an attempt to end the "excessive drinking culture" among young people. The campaign, clearly designed to appeal to Middle Britain's voters, attempts to tackle overconsumption by under-18s both on the streets and in the home. Mr Brown has vowed action on teenage drinking as he puts Labour on alert for a snap general election, which may be held at the end of October. - Sunday Telegraph
Where next for Mitchells & Butlers, the pubs group headed by Tim Clarke? Shares were hit when the turmoil in the credit markets put paid to a planned property joint-venture with entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz. But the shares sell-off is surely overdone. Clarke has invested heavily in pub food, drawing in families not bothered in the least by the smoking ban. Although consumer spending is set to slow, pubs are usually the last sector to suffer. Besides, as soon as the debt market returns to normal, the Tchenguiz deal is bound to be resurrected. So shareholders should hang on. - Observer
After four-and-a-half years as chief executive of Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), Tony Froggatt is calling time on his career at Britain's biggest brewer. Froggatt, 59, an Australian, has told chairman Sir Brian Stewart that he intends to stand down from S&N in the first half of next year. Three internal candidates are the favourites to succeed him. They are John Nicolson, managing director of eastern Europe, Asia and America; John Dunsmore, head of western Europe, and Ian McHoul, the finance director. - Sunday Times
Shops selling alcohol are marking bottles with invisible ink in a bid to crack down on adults who buy booze for children. The secret code allows police officers who catch underage drinkers to trace where the alcohol was bought and identify who purchased it using the shops' CCTV footage. The scheme is being trialled in Cheshire, Lancs, and North Wales. Lancashire Trading Standards officer Chris Storey said: "We estimate about 95 per cent of the kids around here get an adult to buy booze for them. They will stand around the corner and ask an older friend or relative to go and get a bottle of Strongbow or White Lightning cider for them." - Sunday Mirror
Rentokil Initial, famous for eliminating creepy crawlies, will next month begin targeting pubs, offices and restaurants in an attempt to sell them a way of getting rid of unpleasant smells, previously covered up by cigarette smoke. Its Ambius subsidiary has teamed up with Prolitec, a highly specialised US company, to market a computer operated scent-spreading device. Ambius will offer 25 smells in the UK, but companies with special demands can have their own individualised scent. Jeff Mariola, managing director of Ambius, said it was already in talks with pub chains. - Mail On Sunday