SOME shoppers in Edinburgh have welcomed the introduction of a new minimum price for alcohol as a "cracking idea" while others have questioned how much of an impact the measure will have on buying and drinking habits.

Most seemed to agree the changes could alter shoppers' habits in the supermarket but differed on their views of the potential health benefits which could flow from the move.

The Scottish Government's public health measure, which comes in on Tuesday, sets a floor price of 50p per unit of alcohol and is designed to tackle Scotland's longstanding drink problem.

It means a 70cl bottle of whisky cannot be sold for less than £14, while a 75cl bottle of 12.5% wine could be sold for no less than £4.69. Strong beers and ciders will also be affected by the pricing changes.

Glasgow-born Craig, 30, who did not give his surname, said: "I think it's a good thing. Drink is too cheap in supermarkets now.

"If you put the price up in the supermarkets and maybe if you brought it down in the pubs a wee bit, folk would be drinking responsibly. They'd be somewhere safe, they'd be around community, rather than by themselves and lonely.

"People self-medicate with drink and take it too far. So I think minimum pricing is a cracking idea.

"I'm a smoker and I know the impact the price has on my smoking. I think it will be similar for the drink.

"Not everyone is going to be happy (about it), but they're not trying to make people happy. They're trying to help people help themselves."

Lorraine McKay, of Restalrig, said she was not sure if there would be health benefits from the measure but said the baseline price could make some products "a bit expensive".

She said: "I don't really agree with it, putting the drink up, but what can you do?

"People want a wee drink to themselves, like myself."

She said it could mean having to keep a close eye on what goes in the basket during a shopping trip.

"You'd have to cut down a bit. You couldn't get as much as stuff as you normally get," she added.

Murray Wilson, 60, from Leith, questioned the need for the move, suggesting the existing taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are enough.

Wilson said he drinks little himself but feels it may alter the way others shop.

"It could do, of course, when they see the prices increasing. It will affect a lot of people in Leith," he said.

But he added: "People will always find a way to get drink. Rather than pay electricity, they'll buy drink. It's crazy, but that's just the way it is."

Norine Aslam, 37, who runs the Top Cellar off licence in Leith, welcomed the move.

She said: "As a shopkeeper I think it's a positive thing for the public to just control the alcohol problem in Scotland. I'm all for it.

She said there has been a lot of planning involved to get ready for the changes on May 1.

"I've had the licencing officers come around, checking all the prices. My suppliers as well have been in touch with the minimum pricing coming in. There has been a lot of communication."

As for any potential impact on customers, she said: "It's like everything, change is difficult.

"But I think it's a positive change so it's just a hurdle that everyone needs to get over.

"I think it's more positive than negative so I think it will be good."