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 $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 $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 $125 million to the campaign while Bloomberg will contribute $ 250 million, apart from the $125 million he pledged earlier.
Two most populous countries India and China need special attention, said Gates, who is worth $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.
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