As many as 43.44 crore tablets of Buprenorphine — a drug used to help wean addicts off substance dependence — were purchased by the Punjab government in the past four-and-a-half years and supplied to lakhs of people seeking treatment for drug abuse.The major concern, however, is the substantial rise in the number of these tablets supplied in the state’s jails, indicating the extent of drug addiction among inmates lodged across Punjab prisons.This year alone, 8.87 crore tablets have so far been supplied in jails by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation, a sharp rise from 1.17 crore tablets supplied in 2022. As many as 40,830 inmates have been registered for treatment in jails between 2022 and the present.The figures were shared by Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Bathinda, Jagrup Singh Gill, while presenting the 129th Report of the Committee on Public Undertakings on the general working of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation for 2026-27. The figures have been mentioned in the 30-page report tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh, reacting to the report, said the increase in tablet supply was due to the government’s decision to set up treatment centres and Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) clinics in jails.“Doctors and psychologists have been appointed there to help addicts leave drugs and sports and skill development centres have been made there to help them leave their addiction,” he said.The report stated that the 13-member committee of MLAs, headed by Gill, found that 7 crore tablets were purchased in 2022, 9.44 crore in 2023, 10 crore in 2024, 11 crore in 2025 and 6 crore tablets have been purchased through the Punjab Health Systems Corporation so far this year.All these tablets have been supplied through Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment Clinics.The report also highlighted that the number of patients seeking treatment at these clinics has increased from nearly 2 lakh in 2022 to 3.17 lakh currently.“Some treated addicts once again succumbed to the addiction and they are being retreated. After the state government started its Yudh Nasheyan Virudh campaign, the number of persons seeking inpatient treatment had increased and the government had to increase the number of beds in treatment centres (where free treatment is given) to 5,000. Earlier, the number of addicts seeking treatment and admission was 600, which has now increased to 3,400,” the report said.The report also stated that while 70,766 patients are admitted in these centres, the number has increased by one-and-a-half times.