Christina McKelvie MSP has welcomed the support of the Church of Scotland for the Scottish Government’s minimum pricing proposals.

Writing the Scotsman newspaper, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Bill Hewitt, said:

“The cost of alcohol abuse is not just financial but gnaws at the very souls of families who have to cope with its effects. It doesn’t just affect the drinker, it affects everyone. So we need to change our collective attitude to alcohol. That is why the Church of Scotland is supporting minimum pricing by asking our membership to write to drinks producers to say that they should work with the government on this issue.”

Commenting, Ms McKelvie said:

“This is very welcome news. The Kirk joins a host of organisations and producers who recognise the need to change Scotland’s relationship with alcohol through sensible and proven means.

“One person dies in Lanarkshire every single day as a result of alcohol. This not only creates pain and misery for families, it is also a massive burden on our public services.

“Minimum pricing is a workable approach to tackling the problem and has drawn support from all quarters, from health experts to the police to responsible representatives of the alcohol industry, such as Tennent’s. It is past time for the opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament to stop playing politics with the nation’s health and back these proposals.”