From the editor-in-chief Good to be here, now lets get real Chris Fay Editor-in-chief chrisf@tsi.org.uk As a relative newcomer to CTSI and TS Today, it would be glib of me to welcome you to what is, of course, your magazine. But I can say it is a genuine privilege to write my rst welcome note as editor-in-chief of this publication and the Institutes new communications manager. During my time as a journalist, and latterly in corporate communications, trading standards services have consistently produced some of the most compelling and newsworthy stories from across the local government spectrum. I believe this is reected in the wide platform given to consumer issues in the media, although the prole of trading standards still needs to be more rmly embedded in the publics mind. Broadly speaking, the coverage is welcome, but the prevalence of headline-grabbing stories and prime-time TV programmes give consumers a false sense of security and must be tempered with the realities of a service facing severe and sustained cuts. Money is eye-wateringly tight and as regulatory services expert Derek Allen cautions in his budget analysis good trading standards services could become the exception, not the norm. Robust services are a necessity and encompass responsibilities that stretch beyond the conventional consumer landscape into public health and wellbeing. In this edition, we feature the perennial issue of illicit tobacco sales that pose an obvious and widely recognised threat, plus medical weighing equipment compliance a classic example of a relatively unknown, but vital service. We might have our friends in the media, but more must be done to make sure they show the full picture.