Guwahati: Meghalaya’s community-led campaign against tobacco has expanded significantly, with 531 Village Health Councils (VHCs) across East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills now meeting the criteria to be recognised as Tobacco-Free Villages.

The figure is more than double the 264 VHCs that qualified in the first year of the Tobacco-Free Village (TfV) Programme, which was launched in 2024 by the National Health Mission (NHM), Meghalaya, in collaboration with the Meghalaya State Rural Livelihoods Society (MSRLS) and Sambandh Health Foundation (SHF).

Of the 1,295 VHCs across the two districts, 1,039 are now actively implementing the programme, while 531, or 41 per cent, have met the prescribed criteria for tobacco-free status.

Nabaneeta D. Mawrie, State Nodal Officer, National Tobacco Control Programme, NHM Meghalaya, said the initiative was designed to go beyond declaring villages tobacco-free on paper.

“The Tobacco-Free Village programme is not about declaring villages tobacco-free on paper; it is about communities taking action,” she said.

The Meghalaya model has subsequently informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Standard Operating Procedures for villages to become tobacco-free.

The programme comes against the backdrop of a significant tobacco-use burden in the state, with tobacco estimated to contribute to around 8,000 deaths annually in Meghalaya.

During the second year of the initiative, more than 5,500 anti-tobacco activities were carried out across participating villages, reaching over 55,000 people. Tobacco use and its health risks are increasingly being discussed at VHC and Self-Help Group meetings as well as community gatherings.

Unlike a simple administrative declaration, the Tobacco-Free Village status is based on documented community action and verification. VHCs are required to appoint a TfV Nodal Officer, hold awareness meetings, pass resolutions restricting tobacco sales near schools, issue no-smoking orders for public places, install anti-tobacco signage and conduct awareness drives.

A VHC can be recognised as Tobacco-Free after successfully completing and verifying at least five of six prescribed activities.

The approach has also produced visible changes in some participating communities.

In Mawmluh VHC under Shella Block, the VHC chairperson said an estimated 40–50 per cent of villagers had stopped smoking or using tobacco in public places such as tea shops, bus stands and social gatherings. Around 60–70 per cent had also stopped smoking inside their homes, particularly around infants and young children.

VHC Tobacco-Free Village nodal officers, working with schools, have also been pushing to prevent the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in areas surrounding educational institutions.

The programme’s second year saw greater involvement of MSRLS Village Organisations, Self-Help Groups and Community Gender & Health Activists (CGHAs), who have helped take tobacco-prevention messages into homes and community-level discussions.

Ronald Kynta, Chief Operating Officer of MSRLS, said the organisation’s grassroots network had helped bring tobacco prevention into everyday community interactions.

“MSRLS staff have used their deep trust and reach within communities — built through Village Organisation, SHGs and VHCs — to carry tobacco prevention into homes and everyday conversations, making healthier practices a shared community goal,” he said.

Three VHCs identified as the best performers were recognised by the Meghalaya government during the State Level Observation of World No Tobacco Day 2026 in Shillong. Each received a Certificate of Appreciation along with a cash award.

The programme is being implemented using Sambandh Health Foundation’s digital programme implementation methodology. Officials said the experience demonstrated the role community institutions can play in sustaining tobacco-control efforts at the grassroots level.

The third year of the Tobacco-Free Village Programme began on September 1, with the programme now entering a new phase of expansion across the two districts.

For Meghalaya, where tobacco use remains a major public-health concern, the growing number of villages meeting tobacco-free criteria points to a shift from awareness campaigns alone towards sustained community-level action.