A MINIMUM price for alcohol was proposed by the Scottish Government today as part of a range of radical measures to fight the country's binge drinking culture.
Other proposals include raising the minimum age for buying drink in supermarkets and off-sales to 21 and banning cheap alcohol promotions.
Alcohol-only checkouts could also be introduced in larger off-sales premises, to reinforce the view that alc
ohol, like cigarettes, is a "special case".
And a "social responsibility fee" could be charged to some alcohol retailers, to help pay for the consequences of alcohol misuse.
The proposals were set out in a consultation document published today which aims to tackle a problem estimated to cost Scotland £2.25 billion a year.
The level of the minimum price has yet to be determined.
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Setting a minimum price for a unit of alcohol will mean price better reflects the strength of alcoholic drinks.
"This will end the heavy discounting which allows strong drink to be sold cheaper than bottled water."
She said the Scottish Government was "determined" to tackle alcohol misuse.
"People across all sections of society, of all ages, are drinking ever greater quantities of stronger alcoholic drinks," she said.
"The cost of alcohol misuse to our health service, our justice services and our economy is enormous and growing.
"The cost to our families, our communities and our society is incalculable."
She said raising the age for off-sales purchase to 21, and better enforcement, would reduce "excessive" consumption by young people.
And Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "Alcohol is part of Scottish culture, and we value the contribution of the industry to our economy and national life, but we've got our drinking out of kilter.
"It's not the drink, it's how we're drinking it.
"I believe these proposals will help us build on the changes brought in by the Licensing Act, such as ending happy hours in pubs and clubs and bringing in separate display areas for alcohol."
"They can kick-start the long term cultural shift in our society that we need."
Ms Sturgeon said the proposals were "bold".
She added: "I believe we have a duty in the face of the scale of the issues that we are dealing with to respond with proposals that can match the scale, that reflect the scale of the problem. That's what we've done today.
"Some of the proposals are controversial. They will inspire heated debate – that debate is already taking place on the airwaves and communities of Scotland, but I welcome that."
The Government provided an indicative figure per litre at 35p per unit for the minimum price in the consultation. This compares with current examples of 25.5p for supermarket vodka and 20.5p for white ciders.
"We do believe that we can move forward with minimum pricing," Ms Sturgeon said.
Ms Sturgeon said this could be done either through secondary legislation under the Licensing Scotland Act 2005 or through primary legislation.
Ms Sturgeon added that the minimum price could be put in place without impacting on the price of whisky or mainstream lagers and beers.
The consultation does not include figures for the social responsibility fee but states this should be "proportionate to the size of the business".
It is aimed at ensuring businesses contribute towards the additional cost of providing services including "policing the night-time economy".
Local authorities should be able to determine the priorities within their area, according to the consultation which says that the fees should not be set out nationally.
"The fee should not become a direct alternative to established sources of funding but should provide an opportunity for local authorities and other public bodies to be innovative and creative in finding new ways of tackling and responding to the effects of alcohol misuse," the consultation adds.
The full article contains 646 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
