Alcohol minimum price law set for 1 May 2018

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol will come into force on 1 May 2018, the Scottish Government confirmed today.

The 2012 Scottish Parliament legislation setting a minimum price can finally be brought into force after the last week's ruling of the UK Supreme Court which rejected a challenge by the Scotch Whisky Association and other producer interests to its compatibility with EU law.

Updating MSPs on the Government's plans, Health Secretary Shona Robison confirmed that a consultation on the preferred minimum unit price of 50p will be published next week.

Ms Robison said ministers wanted to introduce minimum unit pricing as quickly as possible.

“With alcohol on sale today at just 18p a unit, we have to act to tackle the scourge of cheap, high-strength drink that causes so much damage.

“Research shows a minimum unit price of 50p would cut alcohol-related deaths by 392 and hospital admissions by 8,254 over the first five years of the policy.

“I anticipate setting the minimum unit price at 50p per unit. We now want to hear from retailers, representative bodies and licensing standards officers about the practicalities of implementation.”