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Puffers fume over Delhi smoke ban

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Smokers in India's capital New Delhi look over their shoulders before lighting up in public, wary of the army of civil servants authorised to enforce the recent city-wide ban on smoking.

'I have stopped socialising in public places ever since the ban came into effect,' said Jyoti Sikand, a swinging New Delhi socialite.

Imagine a long evening in a restaurant or bar without being able to smoke, she said.

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Instead, the 40-year-old executive prefers to stay at home where she can smoke freely - at least for now.

Others at the lower end of the social spectrum are also feeling the effects of the ban, introduced on January 26.

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'I have to be careful where I smoke now,' said Ramu, a domestic servant who has stopped going to his neighbourhood tea shop for fear of being caught smoking and fined.

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