LONDON - British supermarkets will no longer be allowed to sell alcohol as a loss leader under minimum pricing measures announced earlier this week, the Financial Times reports.

The UK has been assessing minimum pricing to address alcohol abuse, despite claims by analysts that increasing its cost does not deter problem drinkers.

Under the new law, retailers are prohibited from selling alcohol below the cost of duty plus value added tax.

The measure is significantly more diluted than earlier proposals, one of which called for a floor price based on taxes plus minimum production costs.

Some industry observers predicted the move would have two main effects: the end of loss leaders and a narrowing of the pricing gap between private label brands and premium brands.

A government spokesperson said preventing alcohol from being sold "cheaply and harmfully??sends a clear signal to retailers and the public that the government takes this issue seriously, and importantly will have a limited burden on business and can be delivered at low cost to the taxpayer".

A spokesperson for Smirnoff vodka and Guinness blasted the government??s reasoning, saying: "We believe that any such ban would be ineffective as there is no credible evidence of the efficacy of pricing interventions in tackling alcohol-related harm."