The Department of Health & Family Welfare, under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in collaboration with Vital Strategies, New Delhi, organized a State Level Capacity Building of Master Trainers to integrate Brief Advice for Cessation at Primary Level in Nagaland, at the Directorate of Health & Family Welfare, Kohima on October 23.
The landmark initiative aims to systematically integrate brief advice for tobacco cessation into routine primary healthcare delivery across the state. To support health personnel in executing this mandate, the dignitaries officially released two key training publications: the Facilitator’s Guide for Training of Health Workers on Tobacco Cessation and the Nagaland Reference Manual for Health Workers, jointly developed by Vital Strategies and the State NTCP team.
Speaking on the occasion, the Special Guest, Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, S Tainiu, NCS, emphasized the necessity of shifting tobacco cessation from occasional campaigns to an established, routine element of healthcare services. “Primary healthcare workers interact with individuals at all stages of life. By incorporating brief advice into routine consultations, we can make tobacco cessation an accessible and continuing part of the services our health system provides,” she stated.
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She also highlighted the vital role of inter-programme coordination involving Community Health Officers (CHOs), the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NPNCD), and the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP).
Guest of Honour, Dr Keveduyi Theyo, underlined that tobacco cessation cannot rely solely on specialized clinics or psychologists due to manpower constraints. “With limited manpower at tobacco cessation clinics, we can only reach a few thousand people. It must be the job of every health worker, especially at the primary care level, to support patients in quitting,” Dr. Theyo remarked.
He called on participating district teams to establish clear action plans, cross-programme referral mechanisms, and robust monitoring processes to ensure training outcomes lead to measurable impact on the ground.
State Nodal Officer of NTCP, Dr I Simon Sumi, shared the objective of training and overview of cessation services in Nagaland.
The day-long workshop featured technical sessions by Dr Upendra Singh Bhadauria, Technical Specialist (Cessation) at Vital Strategies, focusing on scaling brief advice during patient interactions, strengthening TB–tobacco linkages, and measuring monitoring frameworks. The event concluded with district action plan presentations, discussions, and the distribution of certificates to participating healthcare officers and master trainers.
