The anti-smoking message will be targeted at children

New plans to warn Scotland's youth about the dangers of smoking tobacco and cannabis have been drawn up at a major conference in Edinburgh on Friday.

Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament attended with more than 200 other delegates from health organisations and the public and voluntary sectors.

The conference, which was being organised by the Scottish Tobacco Control Alliance (STCA), aimed to formulate new "ways to defuse the health time bomb of young people smoking".

It is estimated that around 30,000 people in Scotland die each year through tobacco-related conditions.

Speakers debated a range of topics - from successful initiatives helping young people to quit smoking, to the policies that politicians can implement to discourage tobacco use.

Brian Pringle, chair of STCA, said: "Tobacco is still the single most significant threat to Scottish young people's long term health, and this is a vital opportunity to make sure that this threat is addressed.

'Unethical behaviour'

"My experience as a youth education worker shows me how important it is to consider both fags and hash.

"It's clear that many young people are using cannabis and tobacco together - in fact, nearly a third of Scottish teenagers have smoked cannabis in the last year - so we need to make sure that we take that into account when giving information on quitting.

"We must also have up-to-date and relevant information about both substances."

Exposing the tobacco industry's unethical behaviour has had a huge impact in other countries Professor Gerard Hastings

The conference was chaired by Professor Gerard Hastings, of Strathclyde University's Centre for Tobacco Control Research.

He said: "Our young people remain the primary target for the tobacco companies who are prepared to spend millions to protect their profits.

"They need to recruit 26,000 new smokers each year in Scotland alone to replace those who die or quit.

"The recent ban on tobacco advertising was a great start, but there's still lots more we can and should do.

"Smoke-free workplaces, and restricting smoking in public places have been proved to reduce young people's smoking rates, while exposing the tobacco industry's unethical behaviour has had a huge impact in other countries."