To minimum price

they and the wider drinks industry must now respect the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament and the ruling of the Court of Session and enable this lifesaving measure to be introduced.”

The Scottish Government has consistently argued MUP is the “most effective mechanism” for tackling this problem.

But the SWA claimed it would be ineffective in its aims, penalise responsible drinkers, and was beyond the powers of Holyrood.

Responding to yesterday’s ruling, Mr Frost said: “We continue to believe that MUP is a restriction on trade and that there are more effective ways of tackling alcohol misuse.

“However, we of course remain committed to working with all partners to address this problem so that the long-term trend of declining alcohol-related harm in Scotland continues.”

The Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman Donald Cameron said the Tories had backed the policy “on the condition it would be legally sound and could be dropped if found not to be working”.

He added: “We need to monitor the results closely to see what impact it has on Scotland’s damaging and complex relationship with alcohol.”

Alison Johnstone, health spokeswoman for the Scottish Greens, accused the big drinks firms of “copying the historic behaviour of the tobacco industry”.