NEW DELHI -India imposed a fresh ban on smoking in public places yesterday, four years after a largely ignored earlier prohibition saw people continuing to puff away in restaurants, clubs and bars.

One in three Indians smokes some form of tobacco, officials said, and a study published in the New England Journal Of Medicine in February said one in every 10 deaths in India from 2010 would be smoking-related.

The government has made smoking a top issue, with Bollywood stars urged to stub out their cigarettes and on-screen smoking forbidden. But the drive against smoking in public floundered.

He said the fresh ban included new areas such as educational institutions, bars, discos, hospitals, offices and libraries. It also directs establishments to appoint anti-smoking officers who will be liable if people smoke.

The fine amount remains the same, at 200 rupees (S$6), and the estimated 240 million tobacco users in India may still smoke at home, in their cars, in parks and on streets.

India's cigarette giant, Indian Tobacco Company, and the country's hotel lobby fought for a stay, but the plea was rejected by the Supreme Court on Monday. That cleared the way for the new ban to take effect yesterday, the birthday of peace icon Mahatma Gandhi, who did not smoke, drink alcohol or eat meat.

Restaurant and bar managers said they would comply with the law.

'We are very clear on this aspect. We will not let anybody smoke,' said Mr Shahzad Rashid, who manages Mist restaurant in Park Hotel in the city.

But he admitted it might take a toll on the hotel's popular Agni disco, which, like many bars and restaurants in India, sells cigarettes. 'Out of 100 patrons, 90 who drink probably also smoke,' he said. 'People also drink more when they have a smoke.'

Smokers, particularly young ones, have expressed dismay about the new ban.

But Indian officials said they were hopeful everyone would come around. 'This is very, very necessary for public health,' said Mr Prasad, who hopes to broaden the ban.

Still, some in the capital were hopeful the new law would not be the last word on smoking.

'Maybe there will be a change in the law after some time. They keep changing the laws, sometimes this way, sometimes that way,' said Q'BA restaurant-bar manager Sunil Tickoo.

He also wondered how tight enforcement would be this time. 'The first one or two weeks, there will be a lot of checking. It will be like a red-hot pepper has burst, but after that the fire will die down,' he said.

Past attempts to ban spitting and urinating in public in India drew little success, and the state of Bihar has already expressed reservations about the practicalities of implementing the smoking ban. While rules limiting advertising, marketing and sales existed before, implementation was not very effective.

Mr Rajesh Kumar, a tobacco products seller, said he did not expect sales to drop. 'Smokers will smoke,' he said.