TEHRAN – In a press conference at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Tehran on Wednesday there was an emphasis on the measures needed to prevent drug abuse.

The press conference in UNODC office in Tehran came as the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board issued its annual report on Wednesday underlining the need for affirmative action and commitment on preventing drug abuse globally.
Gelareh Mostashari, an expert on drug reduction demand at the UNODC office in Iran, said “collective measures” are needed to counter drug abuse.
Mostashari said the groups more vulnerable to drug abuse, such as school children and people living in shantytowns, should be guarded against illicit drugs.
She also said educating people about the consequences of drug abuse should start from an early age.
Mostashari said parental behavior, social environment, and lifestyle are very important factors in developing perception on drug abuse.
She added that public health sector and promotion of a civil society are also important for prevention.
Addiction a disease
The UNODC deputy representative in Iran, Kaveh Moradi, said the drug abuse should be dealt with like polio against which everyone needs to be vaccinated.
Moradi said countries like Afghanistan - which produces about 90 percent of the opium in the world - Pakistan, and even Central Asian states and the UAE should work together in the campaign against illicit drugs.
The UNODC official pointed out that chemicals which are used in producing heroin are mainly imported from the UAE.
Prevention
Hamid Sarami, an Iranian official serving as the Drug Control Headquarters director for prevention of drug abuse and cultural affairs, told reporters that the world has realized that prevention should be taken more seriously.
Sarami said an international “social movement” should be created against drug abuse.
The official emphasized that there is a need for reducing drug supply and increasing the accessibility to the addiction treatment centers.
Sarami said 12 departments in Iran including education, science, culture and health ministries as well as the Physical Education Organization, police, and Basij are cooperating with the Drug Control Headquarters for prevention.
He also said establishing more counseling centers, creating a healthy atmosphere at workplaces and garrisons, along with creating alternative activities for the youth are important in preventing drug use.
The Iranian official went on to say that training on the repercussions of drug abuse should start among preschoolers and should be continued in university.
He said fortunately the Iranian society has become too sensitive toward drug abuse.
About 1 million CDs have been distributed between families, people and university dormitories to raise public awareness, he explained.
He also said statistics on the number of addicts in Iran should be precise and scientific.
Sarrami said that according to a scientific study conducted in 2007 in Iran there were around 1.2 million addicts and some 0.8 million others who used drugs occasionally.
He said currently there is no exact census on the number of addicts in Iran. However, he acknowledged that the number of persons who use new types of psychoactive drugs is on the rise.
An official from the Iranian Health Ministry also announced that since 2006 Iran has started a serious campaign to prevent changing medication drugs into illicit psychoactive drugs.