Guwahati, Sept. 10 -- 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...