Watch: Minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland

Let's say you have a drinking problem - as a nation - and, let's say, as the government, you wanted to do something about that. What are your options? There's restricting alcohol or banning alcohol sales, there's taxation which raised prices on all alcohol. But come May 1st, Scotland will become the first country to try a third strategy - minimum alcohol pricing.

"What minimum pricing does and it does it exquisitely well, it disproportionately affects the cheapest brands way more than you raise the prices of anything else. Taxation doesn't do that," says Dr Eric Carlin, director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP).

This isn't about fine whiskies. Essentially, Scotland's trying to knock out the bottom of the alcohol market

"Your cheap ciders, lb3.99 for three litres, will really bump massively in price - lb11 and lb12," Dr Carlin continues. "We really hope that it will drive them out of the market altogether, products which are killing most people and are killing poor people more than they're killing anyone else."

But while minimum pricing could be effective, Claire Gallagher of Turning Point Scotland feels certain people will be disproportionately affected.

"I think the policy public-wide, I think it's a good idea," she says. "Maybe they're looking at binge drinking, you know, youngsters going out at the weekends. You're preventing them topping up with bottles of alcohol before they go out.

"I think the policy will certainly work, I think that's great. But unfortunately that's not the kind of client group I'm dealing with."

Turning Point supports people with alcohol and drug addictions, as well as people suffering from learning disabilities and mental health problems.

"Remember, my client group aren't drinking strong white cider for the taste, because it tastes like vinegar, they're drinking it for the effect. They're drinking for oblivion.

"They won't be able to pay lb11 for the cider that they drink just now, so what is the alternative?"

Scotland is the first country to institute this law and Ireland will soon follow.

"What we've got is a projection that, in year one, deaths in Scotland will reduce by 60%," says Dr Carlin. "It's kind of uncharted territory but then we can't just sit around and not do anything about it."

-This story was produced by NBC Left Field, which creates short, creative docs and features, all designed for social media and set-top boxes.

Video Journalist: Ali Withers