A large review of 115 studies looked at how many people in Iran used opium or had an opium use disorder. The researchers found that while usage remains common, there are notable differences between groups. For example, about 8.4% of men and 1.1% of women in the general population reported using opium in the last year.
Among university students, the numbers were lower, with 2.3% of men and 0.6% of women reporting use in the last 12 months. However, the data also showed a downward trend for younger people. Specifically, among male university students between 2000 and 2018, both lifetime opium use and daily usage dropped by about 9 percentage points.
It is important to note that these findings come from a meta-analysis, which combines many different studies. Because the original studies varied greatly in how they were conducted, the results should be viewed as a broad overview of trends rather than a precise prediction for every individual.
