A world without tobacco "is a world in which people live longer and have happier lives," Bloomberg, New York Mayor who has a fortune of USD 16 billion, said at a joint press conference with the Microsoft founder Gates.

They said the money would go to anti-smoking groups working with governments to curb the consumption of tobacco and related products, including World Health Organisation (WHO) and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The global tobacco market is expected to rise to USD 464 billion by 2012 and the campaign against "global tobacco epidemic" comes at a time when number of smokers in the US is decreasing and American multinationals are looking for markets for cigarettes abroad especially in the developing nations.

Bill and Malinda Foundation will donate USD 125 million to the campaign while Bloomberg will contribute USD 250 million, apart from the USD 125 million he pledged earlier.

Two most populous countries India and China need special attention, said Gates, who is worth USD 58 billion and stepped down as full time executive of Microsoft in June.

But China is more difficult as the government owns cigarette manufacturing companies and draws revenue from them, Bloomberg, who is a former smoker, added.

They called for raising taxes on tobacco and its products to make them out of the reach of the poor people, banning cigarette advertisement, creating smoke-free spaces and curbing exhibition of cigarette smoking heroes in movies as they tend to become role models for teenagers.

"We do not want the modern-day heroes to be cigarette smoking," Bloomberg said.

China current is estimated to have 350 million smokers or one-third of all smokers worldwide.

However, they agreed that Beijing decision to ban smoking in sports venues, buses and parks during the Olympic is a step in the right direction on which they can build.

It has to be impressed on Beijing that the cost of society is much more than the revenue and profits it draws from cigarette manufacturing.

If nothing is done, they said, around one billion people would die by the end of the century of diseases related to tobacco consumption which also increases the severity of the other ailments.

Bloomberg was instrumental in banning smoking in public places, bars and restaurants in New York City despite severe criticism and won a second term in 2005.

Smoking is one epidemic which does not require costly discovery of new vaccines or medicines but only political and individual will and involvement by anti-smoking groups especially in poor countries where statistic show 80 per cent deaths would occur by 2030, they said.

Currently, half of the deaths occur in the developing nations. One reason is that the number of smokers is decreasing in developed nations and increasing developing nations.

Bloomberg said the highest number of tobacco related deaths occur in 30-60 age group and when the bread winner dies, the whole family suffers.