Willie Young has defended pension schemes investing in tobacco firms An Aberdeen councillor has defended the revelation that the North East Scotland Pension Fund has more than £50m invested in tobacco companies. The NESPF, which is administered by the local authority, includes members from organisations including Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils, Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. And the news that the scheme is earning in excess of £2m on an annual basis from cigarette sales has provoked the ire of campaign group ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Scotland. ASH chief executive Sheila Duffy said: ""Councils, the police, the fire service and others are all tasked with looking after people's well-being. This doesn't sit easily with investments in tobacco companies, who sell an addictive product that kills half of its long-term users. However, Aberdeen finance convener Willie Young defended the practice. He said: "The first obligation of any pension scheme is to its trustees and making sure that they benefit from being members of the plan. I can understand some people having ethical questions about smoking. But the fact is that tobacco is perfectly legal at the moment and, until the Government outlaws it, people will continue to invest in it. You also have to remember that this isn't about politics, it is about maximising the pensions of those who are putting their money into the scheme. A spokesman for the pension fund insisted that they would carry on dealing with - and investing in - the tobacco trade. He said: "The North East Scotland Pension Fund invests in tobacco companies because they provide good returns for the fund and our duty as managers is to provide the best returns. The intention of the NESPF is to continue to invest because of the good returns provided. This attitude was attacked by Ms Duffy, who added: "While tobacco companies still try to recruit new generations of smokers, the numbers continue to decline. So removing all investments from tobacco companies can make sense financially, as well as morally and ethically. What do you think about pension schemes investing in tobacco companies?