Labour has launched a new commission charged with coming up with original ways to tackle Scotland's troubled relationship with alcohol.

The Alcohol Commission, formally created on Monday, has been asked to come up with workable alternatives to the SNP's minimum pricing plans.

The party has already suggested reducing the amount of caffeine in alcoholic drinks such as Buckfast.

The Commission will consider following the lead of some European countries by imposing a legal limit of 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre of alcohol.

Its remit also includes examining how existing legislation is enforced, finding new approaches to tackling alcohol abuse and related anti-social behaviour and advising on alternative pricing mechanisms.

Scottish Labour said the commission would find alternatives to the minimum pricing proposals backed by the Scottish Government.

Labour rejected those proposals to set a price per unit, saying they would "put £90 million in the pockets of supermarkets and big brewers without creating a single extra penny for extra police or alcohol treatment".

The party's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "We need to consider radical measures to reduce the level of problem drinking but minimum unit pricing is not the answer.

"The big winners from the SNP's scheme would be the supermarkets and big brewers who would get a £90 million windfall.

"We have created a commission under the chairmanship of Professor Sally Brown to come up with something better.

"Any alternative pricing mechanism must provide more money for extra police officers and alcohol treatment.

"I have also asked the commission to examine the effectiveness of a range of other measures including a legal limit on the level of caffeine in alcoholic drinks, alcohol treatment and testing orders and a mandatory Challenge 25 scheme."

However, SNP MSP Michael Matheson accused Labour of "playing politics" with the important issue of Scotland's relationship with alcohol.

He said: “Their problem is they know minimum pricing is a key measure in tackling the problem but as a result of petty politics they are refusing to acknowledge the evidence or to do their jobs as MSPs.

“If Labour were serious about tackling the problems we face with alcohol they would engage with the Health Committee, listen to the evidence and use the Parliamentary process to make their points."

He added: “It is essential that politicians take decisions on alcohol policy based on public health not party politics.”