Minimum alcohol price 'could be higher than 40p per unit' We've based our assumptions on a unit price of 40p. Obviously we are consulting on it. This is aimed at... dealing with this culture which means that some people think that a good night out is actually pre-loading, so drinking at home, getting drunk at home on cheap alcohol, going out, drinking some more, and then causing problems and mayhem in our town centres. What we do want to do is to affect the cheapest end of alcohol where those sorts of offers enable people to really do this pre-loading. So many people now just get drunk before they go out, that's what causes the problems in our town centres. She added that "deep discounting" in supermarkets was also a problem. One of the things that we will be looking at, if it we think it is right to ban these [discounts]... obviously it would be possible for the Government to legislate on this. She dismissed concerns other ministers have raised that such a ban would be illegal. Mr Cameron acknowledged that the alcohol crackdown will not be "universally popular." But he will insist that the move is necessary to stop the "scourge of violence" caused by binge drinking. The minimum price, demanded by medical groups, will mean that a bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than £3.60; a can of lager will cost at least 80p; and a bottle of spirits between £10.40 and £11.20. Government figures claim that it will cost the average drinker between £21 and £23 a year. Drinkers consuming "harmful" levels of more than 50 units a week, will pay as much as £135 extra a year. Should the Government place a minimum price on alcohol? The Prime Minister said: "Binge drinking isn't some fringe issue, it accounts for half of all alcohol consumed in this country.