Cannabis continues to be an extremely popular drug with young people in the United Kingdom, and the fact that 44% of fifteen and sixteen year olds admitted to using the drug at some point in their lives when questioned for the 2008 United Nations International Narcotics Control Board report should not come as a surprise.

However what many concerned youth and health workers may find surprising is the lack of evidential research regarding the extent that nicotine addiction plays in perpetuating cannabis use amongst the young.

In youth culture the tobacco joint retains its power as a potent adolescent symbol of individuality in much the same way as the cigarette has done since the 1950's. However today, bearing in mind what we now know about the risks to the still developing teenage brain from the stronger strains of cannabis it is of critical importance that we also understand more about how it is that a significant percentage of young people by-pass cigarettes on their way to becoming nicotine addicted cannabis users.

Many young cannabis smokers do not consider themselves to be nicotine addicted simply because they mix their cannabis with tobacco. However it's when the supply of cannabis is curtailed or they make an attempt to quit the drug that the nicotine pull gains dominance. This dynamic can set up a life-time nicotine cannabis relationship that remains one of the hardest for adult drug users to break.