FOR
Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive, Alcohol Focus Scotland:
"We have reached the point where it is necessary for the Government to act to protect the public and begin to change Scotland's relationship with alcohol. Last year the number of Scots dying as a result of alcohol was twice as high as in the early 1980s and alcohol-related hospital admissions were four times higher.
"Today more alcohol is sold in Scotland from off-sales than on-sales and the majority of people do most of their drinking at home. In the large supermarkets, the practice of selling alcohol cheaply – as low as 15p per unit – is widespread.
"Minimum pricing will primarily target high-strength drinks, sold at the cheapest prices and most often drunk by the heaviest drinkers. Introducing minimum pricing sends a clear signal that alcohol is not an ordinary commodity like bread or milk and shouldn't be sold or marketed as such."
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