Feb. 6 :    Feb. 6:  Dr Sharad Vaidya spent a lifetime fighting against tobacco. He died last November while returning from the Chicago Summit against tobacco use. Three months after his death, the cancer specialist's crusade won a pathbreaking victory today with the Cabinet approving the draft of a Bill which contains several prohibitory clauses on sale and use of tobacco products. The Bill proposes to ban smoking in public places. It will also outlaw 'sponsoring of sports and cultural events by cigarette and other tobacco product companies', once ratified by Parliament during the budget session. Piloted by the health ministry, the proposal was adopted unanimously at this morning's Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee. Called the Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation) Bill, it will replace the existing Cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1975. Cabinet spokesman Pramod Mahajan said the most important aim of the Bill was to prevent passive smoking. The government also said the law would 'help to discourage adolescents from consuming tobacco products'. Such a ban exists only in three states. Delhi and Goa have enacted such regulations and a High Court judgment in Kerala prevents smoking in public places. The Bill has more teeth than the previous Act. However, the Centre does not feel that the new law would have immediate impact. 'It will certainly not bring down smoking, only help arrest the growth in the number of smokers. In Thailand, where they had they have had sterner anti-smoking strictures for long, the number of smokers has increased marginally,' a health official said. The government does not expect its excise earnings from the sale of cigarettes, which stand at about Rs 5,550 crore a year, to fall dramatically. But in the years to come, the new law may have an adverse impact on the growth rate of tobacco firms. A health ministry spokesman said that they expected the same to happen in respect of bidis, revenue from which is Rs 300 crore annually. Of the estimated three million deaths in the world from tobacco-related ailments, nearly one-third occur in India. 'Sharad spotted over 25 years ago the major reason behind chest and oral cancers was tobacco,' said Nirmala, his wife and an anti-tobacco activist. Tobacco giant ITC refused to comment on the ban. A company spokesman said it would be unfair to make a statement without studying the proposal in detail. The ban, however, is set to have a major impact on ad agencies and sports organisations, the tobacco industry being one of the largest ad-spenders. Brand managers feel the tobacco lobby will try to block the implementation of the law. 'If the government is serious, it should ban common branding,' Sushil Pandit of The Hive said. Common branding is a cover for promoting a banned product. ITC, for instance, has a line of leisurewear called Wills, also a well known cigarette brand. Sports officials fear losing crucial revenue. 'If the Centre brings in the legislation we have no option but to look for alternative avenues,' a senior Board of Control for Cricket in India official said. The industry appeared disgruntled. Assocham secretary general Jayant Bhuyian said: 'It appears that industry has not been consulted in drawing up a meaningful campaign to project the dangers of tobacco.' Only the ban on cigarettes can be enforced by the Centre, since of all tobacco products, only cigarette comes under the concurrent list. For bidi and gutkha, the states have both legislative and enforcement rights.