Ten Dead and 238 Hospitalized Due to Counterfeit Alcohol Consumption in East Azerbaijan

The deputy of treatment at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences announced that in the past month, ten people in the province have lost their lives due to consumption of counterfeit alcoholic beverages, and 238 others have been hospitalized.

Hojjat Pourfattahi told ISNA that since March 19, six people have died from poisoning caused by alcohol consumption.

Meanwhile, the head of Bu-Ali Sina Hospital in the city of Khorramdarreh also reported the death of a citizen for similar reasons. According to him, counterfeit alcoholic beverages are made using “tramadol, diazepam, industrial alcohol, and even urine.”

The purchase, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in Iran and is considered a crime. Therefore, consumers either use smuggled foreign beverages or homemade varieties.

The non-standard and unhealthy nature of some homemade alcoholic beverages causes poisoning, kidney and liver damage, and sometimes death every year. However, strict measures regarding the entry of foreign alcoholic beverages continue.

Source: Voice of America