Nights out are set to become much more expensive in Scotland from May 1 2018, after the Scottish government passed a law in order to tackle the overconsumption of alcohol.
From 2018, Scottish retailers will be obliged to sell alcohol at a minimum of 50p per unit in stores from May 1 2018, and the Welsh government plans to follow suit in due course.
While this won't affect the most expensive tipples, the initiative will drastically increase the price of cheaper alcohol. Cheap cider is set to see the most striking changes, with the price of a 20x440ml pack of Strongbow cider from Tesco rising from £11 to £22.
Experts at the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) also predict a 44% increase in the price of cheap lager and 20% increase in that of cream sherry.
There is no suggestion that prices in England or Northern Ireland will be similarly affected, although many have called for similar strategies to be used in the rest of the country in order to combat the health and societal problems caused by alcohol.
The Scotch Whiskey Association had tried to block the introduction of minimum prices, but the Supreme Court ruled that the price hikes were in fact perfectly legal.
Scottish health secretary Shona Robison spoke in Holyrood (Scottish Parliament) of how the minimum price will limit the number of deaths due to alcohol in Scotland. 'There were 1,265 alcohol-related deaths last year, up 10% on 2015, while just today we see statistics showing a 2% annual increase in alcohol-related hospital stays...With alcohol on sale today at just 18 pence a unit, we have to act to tackle the scourge of cheap, high-strength drink that causes so much damage.'
The news comes as scientists at the University of Cambridge revealed yesterday that the average wine glass is seven times bigger now than they were in the early 1700s.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.