He was addressing an inauguration ceremony at the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) headquarters in Rawalpindi. The premier said that "if a single-family member becomes a drug addict, he can destroy the whole family. If the father is a drug addict, he destroys the life of his children, if a child becomes an addict, they not only destroy their own life but of their parents and siblings too."

"Since [drugs] are a silent killer, people don't talk much about the repercussion of using drugs. And society doesn't understand how dangerous they can be and how the addiction becomes cancer."

The premier said "whatever has been instructed in the Qu'ran is only for the benefit of humankind. Back in the 1980s, many people earned money by selling drugs but society accepted them without raising any objections. This was the biggest setback for our country."

Khan in his address said that as per statistics 7 million Pakistanis are drug addicts. The number is bigger than the total population of New Zealand.