The Resource Centre for Tobacco Control (RCTC), today formally received the WHO Regional Director’s Special Recognition Award at the WHO Country Office for India, New Delhi. The award, announced on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day 2022, recognises outstanding contributions towards advancing tobacco control through innovation, digital public health, evidence generation and policy support. The honour was received by Prof. Sonu Goel, President of the Resource Centre for Tobacco Control and Professor at Department of Community Medicine and School of public Health, PGIMER Chandigarh by Dr. Yvan JF. Hutin, WHO Country Representative (Director) for India.
Conceived as India’s first dedicated digital knowledge repository on tobacco control, the Resource Centre was developed in 2018to supportNational Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP). At a time when tobacco continues to claim over a million lives annually in India and newer nicotine products are rapidly emerging, access to timely, credible and evidence-based information for policymakers, programme managers, researchers, healthcare professionals, civil society organisations and students has become as important to drive policy in the country.It houses one of India’s most comprehensive collections of tobacco control legislation, government notifications, policy documents, implementation guidelines, circulars, educational resources and technical materials, making reliable information available through a single national platform.
Beyond serving as an information hub, the Resource Centre has played a pivotal role in providing technical support to several States and national institutions, contributed evidence to policy formulation, supported the implementation of India’s landmark ban on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), strengthened the effective implementation of tobacco control legislation, and worked closely with key stakeholders to strengthen the NationalTobacco Control Programme.
Over the years, it has organised more than 80 national and regional workshops, webinars, consultations, conferences and summits, equipping nearly 19,000 professionals with the knowledge and skills required to implement evidence-based tobacco control interventions. It has also pioneered dedicated online professional learning programmes like 3- and 6-month courses in tobacco control, besides many short-term programs, thus ensuring continuous capacity development for programme managers, healthcare providers, researchers and public health practitioners across the country.
Resource Centre has brought together experienced researchers and early-career professionals and facilitated the publication of more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers, strengthening India’s scientific contribution to global tobacco control literature. Complementing these efforts, its flagship bi-monthly newsletter, Tobacco-Free Times, has completed 45 editions, providing regular updates on emerging evidence, policy developments, implementation experiences and best practices from India and around the world.
The Centre has also fostered strong national collaborations, serving as a technical resource partner to initiatives including, the AIIMS Consortium for Tobacco free India,the Consortium of Medical Colleges for Tobacco free India, and the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) Task Force and numerous government departments, academic institutions and civil society organisations. These partnerships have created a vibrant national ecosystem for knowledge exchange, innovation and collaborative action against tobacco.
Receiving the honour, Prof. Sonu Goel said:
“This recognition belongs to every individual and institution that has contributed to strengthening tobacco control in India. The Resource Centre was created with a simple yet powerful vision—to make reliable knowledge accessible to everyone who works to protect public health. Today, that vision has evolved into a national movement connecting policy, research, capacity building and innovation. This award motivates us to continue supporting the National Tobacco Control Programme and developing innovative solutions that help move India closer to a tobacco-free future.”
By integrating knowledge management, policy support, research, capacity building and strategic partnerships into a single ecosystem, the Resource Centre has demonstrated how innovation can accelerate public health action at scale.
Looking ahead, the Resource Centre aims to further strengthen its digital platform through emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence-enabled knowledge support, expand its research and implementation collaborations, develop next-generation capacity-building programmes and continue supporting governments, institutions and communities with evidence-informed solutions for tobacco control.
