A NEW law introducing a minimum alcohol price has come into force in Wales.

As of Monday (March 2), retailers and any outlets serving alcohol must charge at least 50p a unit - meaning a typical bottle of wine costs no less than £4.69.

Each unit of alcohol is 10ml - approximately two teaspoons - or half a pint of lager.

The biggest price increases will be for so-called ‘white ciders’ – strong, cheap ciders which are often sold in large plastic bottles.

Some of these are set to more than double in price and may well disappear from sale in many places.

Discounting of spirits will be much more difficult for shops to do.

For example, 750ml bottles of vodka, whisky and gin are sometimes sold now for as little as £10 - that’s set to rise to £13.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said it would tackle "harmful and damaging" drinking of cheap, strong alcohol.

The Public Health Minimum Price for Alcohol Wales Act 2018 forces retailers to use a formula for working out minimum pricing.

Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething says evidence from Scotland showed minimum pricing changed people's behaviour

Mr Gething said there had been "lots of debate" when the change was first announced, with some "deeply sceptical and unhappy" about price rises, but the evidence of the health benefits was "so clear".

"It's not about making alcohol unaffordable, it is addressing the most harmful and damaging alcohol - high-strength, cheap alcohol. We have already seen the impact it will have," he said.

"And I really do think, in a few years' time, people in Wales will wonder why there was ever a fuss about doing this."Alcohol Change UK said: "Evidence from around the world shows that when the price of alcohol goes up, the amount people buy goes down, and we’re confident that this is what will happen in Wales after March 2, 2020.

"If it becomes clear that MUP is increasing supermarket alcohol revenues, we will be calling for any additional profits to be channelled via taxation into services to support people with alcohol problems."