Health officials warn about tobacco ads in Iranian media
Iranian health officials on Sunday sounded the alarm about the prevalence of tobacco advertisements in the media.
Behzad Valizadeh, the head the Health Ministry’s Tobacco Control Center, voiced his worries during the Tobacco-Free University Conference held in Tehran.
Valizadeh said regulations had been passed to restrict tobacco advertising; however, he expressed dissatisfaction with the extent of such advertisements, ISNA reported.
“Iran’s efforts have positioned it among the leading nations in terms of tobacco legislation. Nevertheless, the effective enforcement of our laws has fallen short of expectations. Without these laws and conventions, smoking rates could have been significantly higher,” he added.
Valizadeh emphasized that although tobacco consumption in Iran remained lower than in certain other countries, decisive action was necessary to prevent a potential increase in the coming years.
“The Ministry of Health is actively working to ban tobacco advertising, particularly on domestic television networks,” he said.
According to Valizadeh, global research indicates that one-third of adolescents and young individuals take up smoking solely due to exposure to advertisements.
Mansour Ranjbar, an Iranian World Health Organization official based in Tehran, also addressed the conference, highlighting the link between smoking and drug use.
He pointed to the illegality of promoting tobacco in any environment and warned about rising smoking rates among teenagers and young people.
“According to WHO studies, Iran is projected to rank among the top three countries with the highest tobacco consumption in the next 18 years. Unfortunately, Iran is poised to become the regional hub of tobacco with the increase in cultivation, production, and smuggling.”
Ranjbar further revealed that the use of hookah had witnessed a significant increase between 2011 and 2021, with a 57% rise among women and a 17% increase among men.