Iran has 1.2m addicts with 15m at risk

Head of Iranian Drug Control Headquarters says there are 1.2 million addicts across the country and 15 million others are at risk of drug dependence.

“Iranians' addiction to drugs has been recorded at around 1.2 million people. Unofficial figures, however, suggest the larger population of 6 million people around the country,” Ismail Ahmadi-Moqaddam told Mehr News Agency.

Iran's Drug Control Headquarters' latest figure shows about 140,000 inmates held in Iranian prisons, are mostly convicted for drug-related crimes. The ages of the majority of these prisoners range from 24 to 32.

“Illegal drugs in Iran have reached alarming levels and is a major factor holding back the country from achieving its vision of a clean-living and productive society,” Ahmadi-Moqaddam said.

Illegal drugs and smuggling puts 10 to 15 million of the country's youth, the largest demographic, at risk of coming into contact with banned substances.

“Older youth and adolescence are in serious danger of exposure to drugs and narcotics. Youngsters should be under close observation by their families, schools, in the workplace, and society,” he continued.

With a 900-km (560-mile) common border with Afghanistan, Iran lies on a transit corridor between opium producers in Afghanistan and drug takers in Europe. The UN credited Iran for the seizure of 80 percent of the opium netted around the world in 2007.