Latest figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics revealed that cigarette production in the country went up by 14.5% with a total worth of PKR25 billion in the first half of this fiscal year.
The Planning and Development Department of the Punjab also revealed that the manufacturing and sales of cigarettes in Punjab have increased by 9.4% and 19.2%, respectively, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the province.
The increase in these figures is in contrast to the government’s claims of discouraging the use of tobacco products in the country.