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Scotland has become the first country in the world to implement a minimum unit price for alcohol.

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, hailed the policy, designed to cut alcohol-related harm, as "bold and brave" as it was finally brought in across the country.

The minimum 50p per unit price, delayed for six years by a legal challenge led by the Scotch Whisky Association, has been welcomed by the medical professional and health campaigners as the biggest breakthrough in public health since the ban on smoking in public.

It is estimated the move could save around 392 lives in the first five years of its implementation in Scotland, where on average there are 22 alcohol-specific deaths every week and 697 hospital admissions.

The misuse of alcohol is thought to cost Scotland £3.6 billion each year, or £900 for every adult in the country.

Speaking on a visit to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Ms Sturgeon said: "Scotland is the first country in the world that is being bold enough and brave enough to implement minimum unit pricing.

"The eyes of the world will very much be on Scotland, not just today but as the benefits of this policy start to be seen and felt.

"Already we see countries across the British Isles - Wales and Ireland - looking to follow suit and I'm sure that as the benefits of this policy start to be seen we'll see other countries elsewhere doing exactly that.

"All of the evidence says that minimum unit pricing will reduce deaths from alcohol-related illnesses, reduce hospital admissions and generally reduce the damage that alcohol misuse does to our society.”

Medical leaders have joined with a leading children's organisation and a homelessness charity to call for minimum unit pricing (MUP) to also be implemented south of the border.

The changes, coming into effect in Scotland on Tuesday, will drive up the price of bargain booze by setting a floor price below which a unit of alcohol cannot be sold.

It is hoped the move will curb alcohol related death and illnesses, while slashing crime and lessening the burden excessive drinking places on the health service.

The Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA), a group of more than 50 medical organisations including the British Medical Association, Royal College of GPs and Alcohol Concern, launched an intervention with the Children's Society and homelessness charity Thames Reach on Tuesday.

They said that a delay of five years could lead to more than 1,000 people dying in England from alcohol-related problems.

MUP would not affect bars and pubs in England, instead pushing up the price of cheap supermarket vodka and super-strength lagers which are popular with street drinkers and other vulnerable groups, the group said.

Chair of AHA Sir Ian Gilmore said: "Cheap alcohol is wrecking lives and livelihoods in England as well as Scotland.

"There are more than 23,000 deaths a year in England linked to alcohol, and many of these come from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society.

"Minimum unit pricing will save lives, cut crime and benefit the public finances. At the same time, pub prices will be left untouched, and moderate drinkers will barely notice the difference under MUP.

"Any delay in implementing MUP in England will only cost lives and lead to unnecessary alcohol-related harm. We urge the Westminster government to act now."'

The Scottish Government has faced calls to go further with policies to tackle the issue, including by increasing the minimum unit price and backing further curbs on the marketing or availability of alcohol.

Ms Sturgeon said the government remained "very open minded to policy ideas", adding: "We need to continue to look at how we do more.

"Within the powers of the Parliament its important that we continue to look at where further action can have a positive impact."

Scotland's chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said: "As a nation we drink 40% more than the low risk drinking guidelines of 14 units per week for men and women.

"Prior to the implementation of minimum unit pricing, those 14 units could be bought for just £2.52. This is absolutely unacceptable.

"That is where this new legislation comes in, and I am confident that over the first five years of its operation, minimum unit pricing will reduce the number of alcohol-specific deaths by hundreds, and hospital admissions by thousands."

Tory MSP Miles Briggs said his party would "await with interest" the impact of the policy.

He said: "The Scottish Conservatives supported the introduction of a sunset clause, so that if minimum pricing proves to be ineffective then it can be scrapped."

Labour's Anas Sarwar MSP welcomed the move but said a "comprehensive, fully-funded strategy to tackle problem drinking" was needed.

He said: "Labour has made the case for a Social Responsibility Levy to claw back the windfall supermarkets could make from minimum unit pricing. This cash could be reinvested in our NHS and in preventative public health programmes."

Green MSP Alison Johnstone and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the government should consider increasing the 50p rate.

Ms Johnstone said: "We're still of the view that Holyrood must revisit the policy in two years' time and consider the possibility of increasing the 50p rate as part of Scotland's continued efforts to reduce the harm caused by alcohol."

Additional reporting from the Press Association.