MNA � Secretary General of Iran's Drug Control Headquarters Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni said that Islamic Republic of Iran is standard-bearer and pioneer in anti-narcotics campaign in the international level.

Opium derivatives account for 76 percent of deaths in the international level, he stated.

Speaking on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held at the venue of Iran's Drug Control Headquarters, he said, �to us, joy and freshness of Iranian youth does not have any difference from that of other nations.�

He reiterated, �cultivation and production of narcotic drug has reached to an unprecedented record in the last two decades.�

Statistics show that more than half of addicts in the world has been diagnosed with hepatitis �c� in a way that one in eight addicts in the country has been affected by AIDs.

Global studies showed that drug abuse has claimed lives of 450,000 people in the world last year in 2018.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Momeni added, �challenges caused by drug abuse differ from one region to another region, so that ways to counter this phenomenon should be compiled in accordance with each country.�

He said that 26 tons of drugs and narcotics were discovered in Iran in 2018.