Buying drink at the supermarket could involve a walk of shame to an “alcohol-only” checkout counter under new plans to help Scotland curb its binge-drinking culture.

The scheme, announced yesterday by Nationalist ministers in Edinburgh, is designed to deter shoppers from making excessive purchases by placing them under the scrutiny of fellow customers. It is part of a package of radical measures aimed at tackling Scotland's alcohol problems, which is estimated to cost the country's economy more than £2 billion a year.

The alcohol-only checkouts would mean that families doing their weekly shop would be faced with queueing twice - using one checkout for their groceries and another for alcohol in the same way as cigarettes are sold separately in supermarkets at present.

The proposal was floated in a pre-legislative consultation document from the Scottish government that aims to put in place a plan to tackle the near-epidemic of alcohol abuse in the country.

The document states: “Similar arrangements [to the purchase of cigarettes] for alcohol sales could encourage shoppers to make conscious decisions about whether to purchase alcohol and help to emphasise that alcohol is not an ordinary product. In stores where alcohol is sold, a separate checkout, or checkouts, would be used for the sales of alcohol products. No other products could be processed through the alcohol checkout.”

The dedicated checkout idea was immediately branded absurd by critics. Fiona Moriarty of the Scottish Retail Consortium, representing supermarkets, said: “No one buys alcohol by accident. Those determined to drink excessively will not be put off by separate checkouts but they would inconvenience responsible customers, pile on thousands of pounds of refit and staffing costs and further demonise alcohol.”

“It is only a small minority of Scots who have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Draconian legislation will not change that, but it will penalise the overwhelming majority of customers who consume alcohol perfectly responsibly.”

The initiative was also attacked by politicians. The Scottish Conservatives said that it was a ludicrous initiative. Bill Aitken, the party's justice spokesman, added: “This will stigmatise reasonable and responsible drinkers by forcing us to line up at a separate checkout, as if we were pariahs of society.”

The controversial package of measures, as expected, outlines plans to raise the age for buying alcohol in off-licences in Scotland from 18 to 21 in an attempt to combat widespread alcohol abuse among teenage Scots.

Scottish ministers also want to introduce a system of minimum pricing for drink - possibly about 35p per unit of alcohol, although a definite price has not been fixed - in an effort to ensure that the price better reflects the strength of alcoholic drinks.

Critics of that plan last night seized on the disclosure, from Scottish government officials, that it would mean the price of a bottle of supermarket-branded whisky produced in Scotland would rise by almost a quarter and would thus be more expensive than the same bottle sold in an English supermarket.

Meanwhile, the price of a bottle of strong tonic wine, such as Buckfast, the favoured drink of many teenagers on Scottish housing estates, would stay the same under the scheme.

Minimum pricing would also hit Scots wanting to buy a six-pack of supermarket-brand lager, since the price would rise by 32 per cent, while someone wanting to purchase a bottle of Chardonnay to accompany a meal would have to pay about 23 per cent more.

The Scottish government consultation document states: “We consider that directly linking product strength to retail price, by establishing a minimum price for a unit of alcohol, would contribute to reducing excessive alcohol consumption and, thereby, reduce alcohol-related harm in Scotland. It may also incentivise producers to develop lower-strength products.

“Establishing a direct link between minimum price and the alcoholic strength of the product is considered to be the most effective means of encouraging a reduction in consumption.”

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Health Secretary, announcing the consultation, said: “This will end the heavy discounting which allows strong drink to be sold cheaper than bottled water.”

Ministers at Holyrood are confident that they would be able to introduce a system of minimum pricing in Scotland since it would be covered by Scottish licensing law, which is devolved, and would not impinge on duty or taxation, which are reserved powers for Westminster to decide. Other measures outlined in the consultation paper would see an end to the “three-for-two” promotions in off-sales and supermarkets which, ministers believe, “encourage impulse buying of extra alcohol”.

There is also a proposal for a “social responsibility fee” for retailers to help to pay for the consequences of alcohol misuse. Ms Sturgeon said that the fee would be aimed at ensuring businesses contribute towards the additional cost of providing services including “policing the night-time economy”.

Ministers are also to increase the financial support for alcohol prevention, treatment and support services by £85 million.

Ms Sturgeon explained the thinking behind the package by saying that people across all sections of society in Scotland, of all ages, were drinking ever greater quantities of stronger alcoholic drinks. She said: “The cost of alcohol misuse to our health service, our justice services and our economy is enormous and growing.”

The package was roundly criticised by opposition politicians and the retail industry in Scotland. The Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF) condemned the plans to raise the age limit to 21 in off-licences. John Drummond, the SGF chief executive, said: “At 18 you can vote, drive, marry and fight for your country but don't expect to buy a six pack to drink in front of the TV when you get back from Iraq.” He added: “This measure will only serve to increase prices.”

Ross Finnie, for the Liberal Democrats, said: “This is a totally misguided move by the SNP. Introducing a presumption of guilt for an entire generation of 18 to 20 year-olds that they are irresponsible drinkers will do nothing to improve relations between government and young people.” Bruce Ritson, chairman of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, backed the framework. He said: “The Scottish government has rightly identified alcohol as Scotland's leading public health priority and is to be applauded in taking a long-term, evidence-based approach to tackling alcohol misuse in this new strategy.”

The Holyrood plan would, if implemented, bring Scotland into line with countries such as Sweden, Norway, Finland, Canada and the US, which all have varying minimum purchase ages for sales, and in some cases only state-owned outlets for buying alcohol.

What you would be charged:

How off-licence sales would change if the minimum price was fixed at 35p per unit of alcohol

£2.08: The present price of McEwan's Export Premium would rise to a minimum price of £2.80 per litre

£1.46: Strongbow Cider would be £1.86 per litre

£11.40: Tesco Value whisky would be £14 per litre

£10.67: Glen's Vodka would be £13.13 per litre

£3.12: Blossom Hill Chardonnay would be £3.85 per litre

£7.54: Buckfast tonic wine would remain the same price per litre

Source: Scottish government:

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