The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) on Tuesday (Oct 14) inaugurated India’s fourth National Tobacco Testing Laboratory (NTTL), marking an important milestone in strengthening the country’s tobacco product testing and public health research infrastructure.
India currently operates three such laboratories the apex facility at the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) in Noida, and regional laboratories at the Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDTL) in Mumbai and the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory (RDTL) in Guwahati.
The newly launched NTTL at NIMHANS is designed to carry out comprehensive chemical and toxicological testing of tobacco products. It aims to support regulatory enforcement and promote scientific assessments that align with both national and international standards, the institute said in a statement.
According to NIMHANS, the establishment of the lab reflects a collaborative effort to strengthen tobacco control measures and enhance research capacity for monitoring harmful substances found in tobacco.
The institute added that the facility demonstrates NIMHANS’s ongoing commitment to advancing healthcare research and shaping public health policy through state-of-the-art scientific and technological capabilities.
“This initiative is expected to play a vital role in evidence-based tobacco regulation and further the government’s mission to reduce the health burden linked to tobacco use across the country,” NIMHANS noted.
