Tobacco Facts is the public-facing information website of Fair Trade in Tobacco, formed in 2019 to represent the legal tobacco industry and the tobacco growers linked to lawful production and trade across Pakistan. The platform runs sustained awareness and policy campaigns to protect documented business activity and to oppose the illegal tobacco mafia.

Since 2019, the focus has been simple: enforcement must reward compliance, and the illegal tobacco mafia must not be allowed to set market rules through tax evasion and non-compliance. In practice, pressure on the legal sector first shows up in retail, where shelf space and price points drive consumer choice.

In 2022, multiple public discussions placed the illegal cigarette share around 37%, and the trajectory since then has remained alarming. A nationwide retail survey conducted in November and December 2025 found that non-compliant brands accounted for 51% of distribution at the Point of Sale, compared with 49%.

Meanwhile, public debate often gets distorted when some self-described health activists and NGOs focus most of their pressure on tax-paying businesses, while giving limited attention to the illegal tobacco mafia and the core enforcement failure.

The food for thought is this: the legal tobacco sector pays roughly PKR 300± billion in taxes and has a 49% retail distribution share, while the illegal tobacco mafia holds 51% of the distribution share and, by widely cited estimates, contributes about PKR 5 billion.

You may contact us at info(at)tobaccofacts.pk