India will mark the anniversary today of Gandhi’s birth in a way the famously ascetic Mahatma would probably have approved — by imposing the world’s biggest smoking ban.

At a stroke, about 1.2 billion people will be forbidden from lighting up in bars, offices, bus stands and other public places on pain of a 200 rupee (£2.40) fine — equivalent to a day’s wages for many.

Health experts admit that the day’s edict is likely to be flouted widely in the country, which has already outlawed spitting and urinating in public to little noticeable effect. However, they say that urgent action is needed as a newly prosperous middle class succumbs to an epidemic of “Western style” ailments such as lung cancer and heart disease.

Dr K. Srinath Reddy, the president of the Public Health Foundation of India, said: “Implementation will take time, but passive smoking kills and people have a right not to subject their health to risk against their wishes.”

The Indian Government has shrugged off complaints from cigarette companies and bar owners that it is exceeding its authority. It says it is determined to educate a young and often illiterate population about the dangers of bad habits.

“As many as 600 million people here are below 30,” Anbumani Ramadoss, the Health Minister who championed the smoking ban, said. “We consider them as the high-risk group when it comes to tobacco, alcohol, drugs use, HIV infection and junk-food consumption.” Earlier this week the ban survived an appeal to the Supreme Court to have it delayed. Mr Ramadoss now has his sights set on Bollywood’s depiction of smokers on screen.

The Government believes that 40 per cent of India’s health problems are linked to tobacco. About 250 million Indians use it and an increased rate of smoking among women, combined with a surge in the popularity of chewing tobacco, are raising concerns.

Exacerbated by the shift in lifestyles, heart disease alone is set to end more lives per year in India by 2015 than all infectious illnesses including diarrhoea, tuberculosis and malaria combined, World Health Organisation figures suggest.

Hardened smokers in Bombay seemed unperturbed yesterday. “The authorities aren’t organised enough to prevent people smoking,” one said. “I’ll pay a bribe if they try to stop me. Or perhaps I’ll just stay at home.”

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