Baku, Azerbaijan, August 1
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's first state-run alcohol addiction treatment center was inaugurated in Tehran's University of Medical Sciences.
Following the increase of alcohol use among Iranians, the country's health ministry issued licenses for private alcohol addiction treatment centers. It is the first time that a state-run alcohol abuse treatment clinic starts activity in the country, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on August 1.
In September 2013, a permit was issued for the establishment of Iran's first alcohol rehabilitation center in Tehran.
Alcohol use is prohibited according to the Iran's Islamic-based rules, so there is not detailed information about the number of the alcohol addicted people in the country.
In April 2013, Iran's Health Ministry issued a warning about the increase of alcohol use among young people in the country. The director-general of the Health Ministry's Mental Health Department, Abbas Ali Nasehi said that this year the problem of alcohol abuse would be the priority for the ministry.
In 2012, Nasehi said that Iran has about 2 million drug addicts in the country, and some of them are also addicted to alcohol. In the same year, the BBC, citing Iran's health officials, reported that Iran's police withdrew the driving licenses of 829 drivers, including 43 women, who had failed to pass alcohol and drug tests.
In February 2013, ISNA quoted Iran's National Police Chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam as saying that there are about 200,000 people in Iran who are addicted to alcohol.
Edited by CN