The UK Supreme Court has ruled that minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol can be implemented.

Having previously been passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2012, the MUP was challenged by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), an organisation that aims to promote, protect, and represent the interests of the whisky industry in Scotland and around the world.

Scotland Health Secretary Shona Robison has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision.

Robison said: “This is a historic and far-reaching judgment and a landmark moment in our ambition to turn around Scotland’s troubled relationship with alcohol.

“With alcohol available for sale at just £0.18 a unit, that death toll remains unacceptably high.”

“In a ruling of global significance, the UK Supreme Court has unanimously backed our pioneering and life-saving alcohol pricing policy.

“This has been a long journey and in the five years since the Act was passed, alcohol related deaths in Scotland have increased. With alcohol available for sale at just £0.18 a unit, that death toll remains unacceptably high.”

Before implementing the MUP, Scottish Ministers will call for a consultation on the proposed £0.50 per unit price and refresh the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) that is required by the Parliament.

The Scottish Government expects that the setting of MUP at £0.50 a unit will be subject to the outcome of the consultation and the refreshed BRIA.