A “bold strategy” to introduce a minimum price at which alcohol can be sold was announced by the Scottish government last week. Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, said the measures were an attempt to prevent strong drink being sold for “pocket money prices”. Scotland will be the first country in Europe to introduce minimum pricing. But is this an example of bold, or simply bad, leadership?

Clearly, something needs to be done and urgently. A report by the World Health Organisation revealed that Scotland has the eighth worst record in the world for alcohol consumption. In real terms, Scotland’s alcohol problem costs the NHS, social services, police and emergency services a staggering £2.25 billion per year. The human cost is not only that of the health and wellbeing of the individual drinker but that of the family, community and society itself. But with everyone feeling the fiscal pinch, many would question whether this is the right time to take this step.

The measures seem to have been taken seriously by the industry, in any case, with the Scotch Whisky Association complaining that minimum pricing was likely to breach both European Union and international trade law. It also warned that such a measure would have damaging consequences for Scotch whisky’s £3bn-a-year export trade, since discriminatory restrictions against whisky would be justified on the basis of Scotland’s own violation of international rules.

But will higher prices really make a difference to the nation's health? Second highest on the WHO’s list of world alcohol consumption is Ireland. A pint in Dublin will set you back as much as €6, while a spirit and mixer is €7. Yet these prices haven’t stopped the nation’s consumption being the second highest in the world. Similarly, higher prices are unlikely to change significantly a culture of overindulgence in Scotland. It can be argued that two thirds of consumption is within the home, with alcohol sold in supermarkets as a loss leader. But Ireland keeps on buying – regardless of high prices.

The move might make some people think twice before buying. But as Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish retail consortium, points out: “Prices and promotions are broadly the same across the UK, but alcohol-related deaths are far higher in Scotland than England – which clearly shows Scotland's relationship with alcohol is deep-rooted and complex.” Seen in this light, these new measures may well only scratch at the surface of Scotland’s drinking culture, interpreted simply as an unfair blanket punishment. While it will undoubtedly be felt most by those on low incomes, already struggling, heavy drinking is popular from the very bottom of the social spectrum to the very top. While much of Scotland’s booze culture is admittedly linked to poverty in areas with some of the lowest life expectancy in Western Europe, alcohol-related diseases are spreading to men and women of all social classes.

It is clear that people from areas of deprivation will experience greater health and social inequalities as a result of problematic drinking. But these new laws don’t address how Scotland’s drinking culture can be changed. Perhaps it will usher in a new age of temperance – but that seems unlikely. You can't change a culture merely by changing legislature.