Rise in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Despite Bans

Iran’s health minister has warned about the risks of drinking alcohol, smoking and the use of illegal drugs.

Aliakbar Sayyari, the Minister of Health and Medical Education and Treatment has warned that, despite alcohol being banned in Iran, large amounts are consumed in the country on an annual basis, with serious health implications for the affected population.

Sayyari told reporters from Savalankhabar website that “420 million litres of alcohol is consumed in the country each year.” He also warned of the dangers of cigarette smoking, and said the government was taking advice from the World Health Organization’s Convention on Tobacco Control, seeking to reduce cigarette smoking by 30 per cent.

According to Sayyari, smoking takes the lives of 45,000 people each year in Iran. He said shisha (hooka) consumption is even higher than cigarette smoking because it is distributed more easily.

In a recent meeting with police authorities, Sayyari also pointed out the financial and legal implications of cigarette smoking, since the majority of tobacco goods in Iran are smuggled into the country illegally.

“Iranians smoke 45 billion cigarettes, amounting to10 thousand billion tomans [$3.1m] each year,” Sayyari told police. “Thirty percent of the cigarettes in the market are smuggled into the country; in other countries in the region, this figure is around 10 percent.”

Sayyari called on the police to step up measures to combat what he called the “social afflictions” associated with drug abuse, addiction, and sleeping rough, warning that some sections of society were at risk of contracting AIDS and HIV. He said AIDS infection is 30 percent higher among underage child workers than in other groups in society.

Read the original article in Persian

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