The Directorate of Health & Family Welfare (DH&FW), Nagaland, in collaboration with Vital Strategies, conducted a State-Level Orientation Workshop on Tobacco Control under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) at the DH&FW Conference Hall, Kohima on October 22.
Additional Director (Dental), DH&FW, Dr. Reyosalu Lase Vizo, welcomed the gathering, while Director (Dental), DH&FW, Dr I Arenla Walling, gave the inaugural address.
The keynote address was delivered by the Special Guest, Additional Secretary of Municipal Affairs, T Nchumbemo Odyuo, NCS. He highlighted the crucial link between municipal administration and effective tobacco regulation. He shared insights on the rationale and legal provisions of tobacco control laws, reiterating that Tobacco Vendor Licensing (TVL) is designed to be vendor-friendly, inexpensive, and accessible. He emphasized that TVL should be actively explored and implemented by all government enforcement agencies.
Furthermore, he noted that continuous efforts must be made to sensitize the public—especially youth, disadvantaged groups, and vulnerable sections of society, who bear the heaviest burden of tobacco-related impacts.
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The session also featured remarks and presentation on Municipal and TVL Act in Nagaland by the Guest of Honour, Retired Director (Dental), DH&FW, Dr Chiekroshuyi Tetseo. A national update on TVL was then presented by Dr Hansa Kundu, Technical Advisor at Vital Strategies.
State Nodal Officer for NTCP Nagaland, Dr I Simon Sumi, presented the state and national epidemiological burden of tobacco use, followed by in-depth deliberations on Tobacco Retail Vendor Licensing. Practical field updates on TVL implementation in Kohima were shared by Dr Neingutunuo Angami, District Nodal Officer. Comprehensive sessions on enforcing Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the COTPA 2003 Act were subsequently conducted by Dr Hansa Kundu.
Concluding the technical segment, Dr Upendra Singh Bhadauria, Technical Specialist (Cessation) at Vital Strategies, presented strategies for establishing Tobacco-Free Villages and introduced a proposed web-based application designed to track and monitor implementation efforts across the state.
