Doctors here have welcomed the decision to introduce minimum prices for alcohol in Scotland.

And they have urged the Irish Government to follow suit.

The Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, today ruled in favour of the Scottish Government's plan to introduce a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol.

The decision followed a challenge from the Scottish Whisky Association (SWA), which argued that minimum pricing of alcohol breached EU trade rules.

The SWA says it will appeal the decision.

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) Policy Group on Alcohol welcomed the judicial ruling.

The Court of Session, Scotland's supreme civil court, ruled in favour of the Scottish Government's plan to introduce a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol.

"We commend the court for issuing a ruling that places public health ahead of industry interests," said Prof Frank Murray, Chair of the RCPI Policy Group.

"As referred to in our recent policy statement on alcohol, evidence shows that minimum pricing is an effective measure to tackle problem alcohol use. It is our hope that this landmark decision encourages our Government here to introduce legislation on minimum pricing without delay."

Under the Scottish Government's plans on minimum pricing, the ­cheapest bottle of wine would be £4.69 and a four-pack of lager would cost at least £3.52.

Translated into Euro this would be €5.58 for the cheapest bottle of wine and €4.18 for a four-pack of lager.