INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: TheIndianSubcontinent News AgencyThe policy, designed to cut alcohol-related harm, will set a minimum price of 50 pence.Edinburgh,
United Kingdom: Scotland on Tuesday became the world's first country to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol,
in what its government expects will be a trailblazing move following years of legal battles."Scotland is the first country in the world
being bold enough and brave enough to introduce minimum unit pricing," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told AFP."I think we will see
countries across Europe and further afield look to replicate what has been done here in Scotland," she added, noting Ireland and Wales were
eager to roll out similar schemes.The policy, designed to cut alcohol-related harm, will set a minimum price of 50 pence ($0.70, 0.57 euros)
per unit of alcohol.It has been welcomed by the medical profession and health campaigners as the biggest breakthrough in public health since
the ban on smoking in public."This legislation will be life-saving," said Alison Douglas, chief executive of the Alcohol Focus Scotland
charity, who predicted it would save 58 lives in the first year."But the effect builds over time and by year 20 -- which is full effect --
it will save 121 lives here in Scotland," she added.Audrey Duncan, 37, a recovering alcoholic from Glasgow whose life was devastated by the
addiction, said the cheap price of booze had helped fuel it."I don't think it (minimum pricing) would have put me off but I certainly would
have run out of money quicker," she added.Whisky industry worriesRetailers said they expected minimal hits on some stock but had long been
anticipating the scheme.Linda Williams, proprietor of a store in Edinburgh, said it could "even out the playing field between supermarkets
and local shops". "There will be no more heavy discounting on spirits and on big packs of beer which really have caused all the problems in
the first place with alcohol," she added.The plan finally came into force this week after years of court wrangling delayed its
introduction.Britain's Supreme Court last year backed the Scottish government's move, declining an appeal by the Scotch Whisky Association
(SWA) and other industry representatives to strike it down.Seven judges in London unanimously ruled that such pricing is "a proportionate
means of achieving a legitimate aim" and does not breach European Union law.That ended a half-decade legal battle which had gone all the way
to the European Court of Justice in 2015.Despite losing its appeal, a spokesperson for the SWA said the industry had worked "co-operatively"
with the government to implement the scheme, "which we hope will be smooth"."We agree with the Scottish government that there needs to be an
objective, independent and robust assessment of the impact of minimum unit pricing," it added.Sturgeon said she never believed it would
damage Scotland's lucrative whisky industry."The premium whiskies that the industry in Scotland is so renowned for are not the alcohol
products that are going to be most affected by minimum pricing," she added.(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated
