LAHORE - The move of Ministry of Health to print horrifying image on all cigarette packets has failed to yield desired results, but in return it enhanced price and sale of cigarette boxes, reveals a survey carried out by this scribe on Monday. The citizens, instead of reducing or quitting smoking, are busy in discarding packets with a horrifying picture of a person suffering from mouth cancer and putting cigarettes in stylish tin or leather cases. The original packet of every local brand cigarette carries a picture and a warning 'smoking causes mouth cancer. Whether this move is good or bad will remain a question mark. But it proves really good for those running cigarette shops. Prior to the printing of a horrifying image on cigarette packets, the sale of cigarette cases was very slow. But now these are selling like hot cakes. I daily sell dozens of different cigarette cases. The price of different cigarette cases has increased by 60 to 70 percent due to unprecedented increase in their demand, said Muhammad Munir Khan, a cigarette shop owner at Karim Block Market, Allama Iqbal Town. He said that he had so far sold more cigarette cases during the last couple of months as he did in the last over ten years. To a question about any impact on the sale of cigarettes after printing of new picture and warning, he said that there was no decrease in the sale of cigarettes. I never kept cigarettes cases at my shop due to their less demand. After printing of picture, the smokers were asking about cigarettes cases. I started purchasing cigarettes cases about a couple of months back and earned a lot of money. Now cigarette cases are regular items at my shop and I get additional source of income, said Shahid Zaman Khan, a pan shop owner at Moon Market, Gulshan-e-Ravi. Yes, the sale of cigarette cases has increased considerably after the printing of new picture on local brands. Increase in demand has also enhanced prices of cigarette cases. We place more tin and leather cases to meet the growing demand, said Ali Irtaza, working at a big tobacco shop in Gulberg. Instead of printing horrifying picture on the packets, the government should have taken other measures to minimise the menace of smoking. The government should implement the decision of banning smoking at offices, parks and public places like railway stations and bus terminals. Only awareness and not printing of pictures could stop people from smoking, said Jamshaid Ahmed, a resident of Samanabad, adding, the government should impose heavy taxes on cigarettes and ensure implementation on ban on smoking at public places.