Scottish Labour's Jackie Baillie has welcomed the Alcohol Commission's final report as a challenging and radical contribution to the debate about how we reduce the level of alcohol abuse in Scotland

The Alcohol Commission rejected the SNP's proposals for Minimum Unit Pricing, arguing that action should be taken across the UK with duty as the main lever for increasing prices, but the report makes a series of other recommendations designed to change Scotland's hard drinking culture:

- A floor price on alcohol, which will be based on the combined 'cost of production' + duty + VAT, to stop drink being sold at very low prices, together with increases in duty based on alcohol content.

- The Scottish Parliament, and other public bodies, should show leadership by not serving alcohol at functions.

- A legal limit on the level of caffeine in alcoholic drinks of 150mg per litre.

- A mandatory 'Challenge 25' scheme to stop underage drinking.

- Ending the sponsorship of sport by alcohol producers and moving towards a ban on advertising alcohol in the media.

- Detailed consideration of a local levy on alcohol to be paid by alcohol retailers to provide additional resources for the emergency and other services.

Shadow Health Secretary Jackie Baillie said:

"The Alcohol Commission has produced a challenging and radical report, which clearly rejects the SNP's proposal for minimum unit pricing and suggests a variety of areas for action. I want to see the Scottish and UK Governments give serious consideration to its recommendations about how we can tackle alcohol abuse.

"I believe that changing Scotland's hard drinking culture is a national priority. That is why Labour established the Commission in the first place and gave it the space to come forward with such a radical report.

"The Commission is right to call on public bodies, such as the Scottish Parliament, to show leadership. Labour will use this report to inform our amendments to the legislation currently going through Holyrood and our thinking beyond the current bill.

"In particular, we will act on the report's recommendations for strong action to limit the availability of alcoholic drinks with active ingredients by seeking to impose a legal limit on the level of caffeine in alcoholic drinks.

"Some of the recommendations, such as the call for an end to sport sponsorship by alcohol producers, may not be practical in the short-term but I am sure that the report will stimulate a serious debate throughout the whole of the UK about the place of alcohol in our society

"If the SNP are serious about tackling Scotland's hard drinking culture then they should stop obsessing about minimum pricing, accept that the policy has been rejected and recognise the seriousness of this report."

Alcohol Commission Final Report