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| Health Minister hails Iran's pioneering role in treating addicts |
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Multithumb found errors on this page: There was a problem loading image C:\wamp\www\images/stories/08_health2.jpg  TEHRAN – Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi underlined the country's experiences in treating addicts, and said that Iran is spearheading global efforts in this regard. "Iran has become the world's frontrunner in treating addicts and no country enjoys Iran's experiences in this field," Vahid Dastjerdi said in a ceremony in the Central Markazi province. She stressed that Iran has revised its view of addiction and addicts, and said Iran views addicts as patients and a human being who should be respected. According to the statistical figures released by the UN, Iran ranks first among the world countries in preventing entry of drugs and decreasing demand for narcotics. Iran spends billions of dollars and has lost thousands of its police troops in the war against traffickers. Owing to its rigid efforts, Iran makes 85 percent of the world's total opium seizures and has turned into the leading country in drug campaign. Eastern borders of Iran i.e. Afghanistan, is the world's number one opium and drug producer. Iran's geographical position has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who intend to smuggle their cargoes from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe. Late in May, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura acknowledged increased drug production in Afghanistan, and praised Iran's activities and efforts in fighting drug plantation, production and trafficking. While Afghanistan produced only 185 tons of opium per year under the Taliban, according to the UN statistics, since the US-led invasion, drug production has surged to 3,400 tons annually. In 2007, the opium trade reached an estimated all-time production high of 8,200 tons. Afghan and Western officials blame Washington and NATO for the change, saying that allies have "overlooked" the drug problem since invading the country 10 years ago. Meantime, Iranian officials have frequently cautioned that the US and the Zionist regime of Israel are striving to spread drug addiction in the world, saying that they use drugs as a biological weapon against the freedom-seeking nations. "The US and the Zionist regime are pioneers of drug distribution in the world and the world arrogant powers use drugs as a biological weapon against the freedom-seeking nations," Commander of Iran's Basij Forces Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi said in June. (Source: FNA)   Socialize this Subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch and receive all of TT updates right in your feed reader
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