MINIMUM alcohol pricing will make a huge difference to Clydebank’s communities, according to a the boss of a local alcohol addiction treatment service.

DACA (Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol), which provides advice, information and counselling for people affected by alcohol-related problems, was responding to the Scottish Government’s legal victory in the Supreme Court last week over plans to introduce alcohol minimum unit pricing throughout the country.

Last Wednesday, the UK Supreme Court removed the legal barriers to the implementation of the Scottish Government’s Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012.

It means that, in May 2018, the minimum price of alcoholic drinks will be set in law – likely to be 50p per unit.

The law will mostly affect supermarket and off-licence sales of white ciders, super-strength beer and so-called “value” spirits – identified as having the most harmful impact on drinkers.

Cathie Dennett, director of DACA, which treats people across Clydebank, said: “This is a really important outcome for our whole community, and I’m delighted that the Scottish Government has led the way on this fight for many years.

“Scotland is sadly over-represented in the most worrying health statistics linked to alcohol misuse, and so we need to be pioneers in trialling innovative measures to tackle this problem at every level.”

The current health guidelines around drinking recommend that, to keep health risks from alcohol to a low level, it is safest not to drink more than 14 units in a whole week.

However, alcohol is priced so cheaply that a drinker could buy 14 units of alcohol for less than £3. A recent Scottish Health Survey showed one in four Scots are drinking at hazardous or harmful levels.It is the direct cause of early deaths for more than a 1,000 people in Scotland every year. In the last five years, whilst this legislation has been held up in the appeal courts, there have been almost 6,000 drink-related deaths in Scotland.

In West Dunbartonshire alone, more than 130 people have died.

Ms Dennett told the Post: “DACA supports any steps which contribute to harm-reduction and will continue to advocate for healthy, positive behaviours around drinking.

“This includes educating and informing people about the impacts of alcohol on their health and wellbeing, as well as providing the necessary support for people to get their drinking under control.”

Clydebank waterfront councillor Marie McNair, West Dunbartonshire Council’s health spokeswoman, said: “I welcome any new measure that helps protect the health and wellbeing of residents and I fully support the introduction of minimum pricing.

“It has been well documented that alcohol has a detrimental impact on the health of individuals across Scotland. Given the policy has not been implemented, it is too early to know the potential impact of the minimum pricing. However, like other local authorities, we are optimistic that this new policy could lead to healthier lifestyles ‎and a reduction in alcohol related harm for the residents of West Dunbartonshire.”

Gil Paterson, Clydebank’s MSP, said the ruling and the Scottish Government’s stance showed the country is “a world leader in the war against damaging booze culture”

He said: “Once again Scotland has shown itself to be an incredible nation, the first in the world to place a minimum price per unit of alcohol to tackle a very damaging booze culture.

“Minimum pricing is a major step in tackling the endemic abuse of alcohol that kills so many people and destroys families in my constituency, and across the whole of Scotland.

“Our actions will resonate around the world with other nations which suffer similar problems with alcohol abuse in their communities.”

However, the legal victory has not been universally welcomed.

Kenny Alexander, Scottish spokesman for Drinkers’ Voice, said: “The poor, the young and the moderate majority are being made to pay the price for the excessive drinking habits of a few middle aged and middle class drinkers.

“It won’t be the ideologically driven Rioja drinking medics and academics, who have campaigned for this measure, that will feel the pinch but the average man and woman that enjoys the simple pleasure of a drink at a price they can afford.

“As a Scotsman, I feel that this decision, which will inevitably drive up the cost of whisky, is an attack on our culture and our heritage.”

But Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Given the clear and proven link between consumption and harm, minimum pricing is the most effective and efficient way to tackle the cheap, high strength alcohol that causes so much damage to so many families.”