Forty physicians have received special training for dealing with alcohol addiction, said Saeed Sefatiyan, head of the working group on drug demand reduction at Expediency Council. Specialized outpatient services for alcohol abuse are offered in 40 rehabilitation centers across country, in a joint effort by the Health Ministry and the State Welfare Organization, the government-owned Persian daily ‘Iran’ quoted him as saying. Another 110 rehab centers are needed to meet the needs of the country, he added. An estimated “60 million liters of alcohol is consumed in Iran per year” according to data collected and reported by the joint working group. Alcohol beverages are banned in Iran since the 1979 revolution, but related abuses are often reported in the local media, including the consumption of industrial alcohol. It is believed that most of the prohibited drinks are smuggled into the country from neighboring states.
