TEHRAN: Iran plans to open 150 alcohol treatment centers, a health ministry official said on Monday, in an acknowledgement of the scale of abuse in a country where drinking is illegal.

The head of the ministry's drug abuse department, Dr Alireza Norouzi, told the ISNA news agency that the 150 day centers would provide special settings and educational courses to help people give up alcohol.

Six of the centers to be opened by March 2016 would also provide in-patient detoxification, Norouzi said.

Iran opened its first detoxification center in Tehran in late 2013.

Authorities estimate that as many as 200,000 Iranians have an alcohol problem despite the ban on drinking in force since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

The sole exemption is for Iran's Christian minority, which is allowed to produce wine for use in mass.

But liquor is widely produced illicitly, leading to frequent reports of deaths from adulterated alcohol. It is also smuggled in from neighboring countries, particularly Turkey and Kurdish parts of Iraq.

Traffic police already introduced roadside breath tests several years ago in a bid to tackle drunk driving. Offenders face a fine of two million rials ($67 at the official rate).

By The Daily Star