Scotland First in the World to Introduce Minimum Alcohol Price

Scotland has become the first nation in the world to introduce a minimum alcohol price to make it less accessible, a pioneering initiative launched after years of legal battles.

“Scotland is the first nation in the world brave enough to introduce a minimum unit price,” said Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. “I think countries in Europe and elsewhere will seek to take what has been done here in Scotland,” she added, mentioning that Ireland and Wales want to launch similar projects.

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A minimum price of 50 pence (57 cents) per unit of alcohol has now been set, a measure that takes into account both the percentage of alcohol and the quantity of the product.

Thus, a 70 cl bottle of whisky cannot be sold for less than £14 (15.60 euros), and a 75 cl bottle of wine with 12.5 percent alcohol will cost at least £4.69 (5.2 euros).

The initiative aimed at curbing the negative consequences associated with alcohol has been welcomed by the medical chamber and associations as the greatest advancement in public health since the smoking ban in public places.

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“This law will save lives,” said Alison Douglas, Chief Executive of the charity Alcohol Focus Scotland, who predicted that this law will spare 58 lives in its first year of implementation and up to 121 lives “in 20 years, when this policy reaches full momentum.”

In 2016, 1,265 deaths were linked to alcohol in Scotland, which has a population of 5.3 million, an increase of 10 percent compared to the previous year.