WHEN I was Health Secretary, I steered legislation through Parliament that gives the Scottish Government the power to set a minimum price for alcohol.

The law says the minimum price is to be set per unit of alcohol, so the more units there are in any given drink – in other words, the stronger it is – the more expensive it will be.

It is a policy motivated by alcohol misuse taking a huge toll in Scotland.

l It damages the health of too many people and costs too many lives.

l It breaks up families and is the cause of much of the crime and anti-social behaviour that is committed in our society.

l It also costs our public services, such as the NHS and the police, a massive amount of money every year – money that would be much better spent in other ways.

l And it is all being fuelled by the fact that alcohol – particularly in supermarkets – has been getting ever more affordable.

There are some very strong drinks that sell for less money than a bottle of water and, these days, teenagers can buy enough alcohol to kill themselves for just a few pounds.

I know that, like most public health measures, setting a minimum price for alcohol is a controversial policy.

The ban on smoking in public places was also controversial but the vast majority of people now think it was the right thing to do.

I believe the same will be true of minimum pricing.

I know some people see it as punishing the majority of responsible drinkers for behaviour of the minority.

But the evidence says otherwise – it shows the impact of minimum pricing will not be felt by the moderate and responsible drinkers but by those drinking at much more harmful and hazardous levels.

Minimum pricing also has the support of a vast array of experts in the health service, the police and children's charities.

So, given all of the evidence and all of the support the policy has, it is frustrating it can't yet be implemented.

Shortly after the law was passed last year, sections of the drinks industry went to court to try to get it overturned.

But, on Friday, they lost the court case. The Court Of Session threw out the legal challenge and upheld the minimum pricing legislation.

The Scotch Whisky Association, one of the organisations that raised the court action, immediately said it would appeal.

But I hope it will think again. For years, the tobacco industry has acted against the public interest by seeking to block public health measures.

The whisky industry should not follow suit. It is a valued and important industry that makes a huge contribution to our economy.

It also produces a premium product that will not be affected by minimum pricing.

So I hope it will change its mind and accept Friday's judgment in the interests of a policy that will save lives and help rebalance our relation-ship with alcohol.