Mr Kerr later told the committee he believed the media, actors and the fashion industry were partly to blame for around a quarter of 15-year-old girls smoking, singling out supermodel Kate Moss for setting a bad example.
He said paparazzi shots of the model with a cigarette in hand encouraged others to start, with many young women using smoking as an appetite suppressant.
He said: "I think the media icons - Kate Moss and others - some have a positive influence on our young people and some can have a negative.
"I do believe, and I don't want to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, there are a lot of messages taken from the media and iconic figures are there to set examples and sometimes those examples are not appropriate ones."
Later, the minister appealed to Ms Moss not to be "so blase" about smoking in public, adding: "If she comes to Scotland she will get good smoking cessation advice."
Oh dear, Mr Kerr, you may not want to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but you're not exactly the epitome of cool, are you? Attacking Ms Moss is so last year. Anyway, tobacco is probably the least of Ms Moss's favoured stimulants.
Interesting that giving up the fags has now become 'smoking cessation'.
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