The booze crackdown will also reduce crime and days lost from work, helping the economy, according to the report.

The study predicts the greatest impact will be among heavy drinkers of strong cider and supermarket-label spirits, rather than the modest middle-class wine drinkers cited by opponents of the scheme.

The Scottish government’s forthcoming Alcohol Bill will set out plans to impose a minimum price for every unit of alcohol sold in shops, as well as banning promotions of cheap drink in off-sales.

The aim of the Bill is to address Scotland’s dysfunctional relationship with alcohol, a problem that costs about £2.25 billion a year in health and social services, crime and days lost from work.

The price of alcohol has fallen nearly 70% relative to disposable income since 1980 while consumption has risen 21%, giving Scotland one of the worst cirrhosis rates in the world. Alcohol is also a factor in around 3000 serious assaults, murders and attempted murders each year, and 450 rapes and attempted rapes.

However, minimum pricing is opposed by the drinks industry and retailers, who say it will depress trade at a time of economic hardship. Conservative MSPs have also criticised the plan, although it is expected to pick up enough support from Labour at Holyrood to become law.

Ministers have yet to set a minimum price, but have floated 40p per 10ml unit, the number used as the basis for the Sheffield University study. The research indicates minimum pricing and a ban on promotions will save 70 lives in the first year of the policy, rising to 370 after a decade.

As about 1400 Scots drank themselves to death last year, this would mean around 5% fewer deaths in year one and more than 20% in year 10. The study also suggests higher prices would mean 30,000 fewer days lost from work a year.

Cheap cider and vodka would all but disappear after the price changes. Own-label supermarket vodka would leap 50%, from around £7 for a 700ml bottle to at least £10.50, while strong supermarket cider would double, from below £3 for three litres to around £6.60. People using these drinks would see the “highest additional spend on alcohol and the biggest fall in consumption”, the study claims. Moderate drinkers would be little affected, according to researchers.

Minimum pricing has been attacked by the Scotch Whisky Association.

A bottle of Scotch would cost around £11.20 after the changes, increasing the price of 30% of blends and 1% of malts.

Despite opposition, deputy first minister and Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon insists Scotland’s drink problem requires “radical” measures. “It’s now widely recognised that excessive alcohol consumption across society, fanned by rock-bottom pricing, is one of the biggest threats to Scottish public health,” she said.

“We are already using all the powers at our disposal to tackle problem drinking, from banning irresponsible ‘happy hour’-type promotions and nationwide test-purchasing to catch rogue retailers, to substance misuse education in schools and awareness raising campaigns on the dangers of too much drink.

“But it’s clear that to bring about a real, lasting culture change we’ve got to be bolder.”

Dr Harry Burns, chief medical officer for Scotland, said he had been sceptical at first, but now considered the policy a “no brainer”. He said: “The consumption levels we’re seeing now right across society have very worrying consequences for health in the short and longer terms.

“All the evidence suggests that if you want to reduce alcohol-related harm, you need to look at price and availability, which are the key drivers of consumption.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets and small traders, said: “There is no link between price and irresponsible consumption. It does not matter how outspoken you are, minimum pricing will not solve the problem.”