The British Home Secretary’s intended reclassification of cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug has stimulated debate about the probate impact on young people’s behavior as well as health effects. In 2000, 34 percent of Scottish 15 year old boys and 30 percent of girls reported that they had used cannabis, with 21 percent of boys and 18 percent of girls reporting use in the last month. The design of this study was focused on two qualitative studies in Scotland. One study used semistructured paired interviews involving 99, 16-19-year-old smokers; the other comprised 8 focus groups involving 46, 15-16-year-old smokers. The interviews and focus groups explored the role and meaning of smoking in the participants’ lives, smoking histories and future cessation intentions, and how these related to other aspects of their lives, particularly cannabis. The study found that cannabis use was regarded as an important and enjoyable aspect of many of the participant’s lives. Importantly, cannabis use and cigarette smoking were linked inextricably. Several reported how smoking joints had been a gateway to smoking cigarettes. Most wanted to quit smoking cigarettes, however, their cannabis use reinforced their cigarette smoking and few wanted to stop using cannabis. This study found that national studies need to be conducted to examine how widespread the problem of smoking and cannabis use is. Tobacco control initiatives and smoking cessation treatment services need to consider, urgently, how to overcome the barrier that a desire on the part of young people to continue cannabis smoking poses to achieving a reduction in tobacco use. References