Iranians consume 60 million liters of alcohol annually

Iranians spend about $216 million on alcoholic drinks and 60 million liters of alcohol is consumed in the country annually, Mohammad-Reza Qadirzadeh, the official of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization (ILMO) said.

He said, “Most of the alcoholic drinks made clandestinely and sold illegally, are found to contain harmful substances including drugs such as tramadol, diazepam, and methadone,” Financial Tribune reports.

“The alcohol content in the drinks is also very high which can lead to alcohol poisoning,” he said on the sidelines of a seminar on alcohol abuse and addiction, held in Tehran on May 26.

The organization released a survey about alcohol consumption in the country. According to the survey, three provinces of Tehran, Alborz and Kermanshah have the highest rate of alcohol overconsumption cases in the country, Trend reports.

Qadirzadeh said 81 people died in Iran due to the alcohol consumption between March 2014 and March 2015. He added that there are 23 factories producing alcohol in Iran.