Scottish home brewing boost
Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 5:59 am
Minimum alcohol price to be set in Scotland
Health campaigners believe a minimum price will help tackle Scotland's binge-drinking culture
A minimum price for alcohol of 50p per unit is expected to be announced by the Scottish government later.
The figure - which is 5p higher than initially announced - comes as a 40p price is planned for England and Wales.
The Scottish Nationalists hope the measure will reduce the health problems caused by excessive drinking.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon is to make the announcement during a visit to the gastroenterology ward at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
It is hoped the move - which would make the cheapest bottle of wine £4.69, while a four-pack of lager would cost at least £3.52 - will lead to a reduction in hospital admissions and deaths through alcohol abuse.
However, Ms Sturgeon has previously said that minimum pricing was not a "magic bullet" that would solve all of Scotland's problems with alcohol.
But she has also said action must be taken to "stem the flow of cheap high-strength drink".
The Alcohol Minimum Pricing Bill is making its second passage through parliament after defeat in 2010 when the SNP was in a minority administration.
It passed through parliament without opposition in March.
Ms Sturgeon promised to announce what the minimum price per unit would be before Holyrood's final vote on the legislation later in this parliament.
The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats supported the legislation, while Labour abstained.
The law will be ditched after six years if the policy does not work after a "sunset clause" was inserted as part of a deal to secure Conservative support for the SNP proposals.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18052849