TOBACCO advertising had its last gasp with an official ban which has just come into force.

The move has been hailed by health experts who see it as removing a vital weapon from the armoury of cigarette firms aiming to attract new smokers. But Roger Williams finds that it is only a small skirmish in a much larger battle.

HAPPINESS, we used to be told to the strains of Bach's Air On a G String , is a cigar called Hamlet.

But for Bolton health campaigners it's something else entirely. It's the sound of silence where TV ads have been silenced by a government ban and the sight of billboard posters advertising cigarette brands being pasted over for the last time.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn predicted the move would save 3,000 lives as he unveiled a banner proclaiming: "Tobacco advertising - we can live without it."

Those in the front line of the battle against Bolton's number one killer insist it is more than just a cosmetic gesture.

"The ban on advertising will definitely help reduce consumption," says public health specialist Lesley Jones, who has recently taken on the role of 'tobacco control' leader for Bolton Primary Care Trust. "It's about creating the idea that non-smoking is the social norm."

Her views were echoed by Lord Leslie Turnberg, president of North West ASH (Action For Smoking and Health).

He said: "I am sure this ban will make a real difference in reducing the number of children smoking and helping people give up the habit because they will not continually be reminded of the so-called 'joys' of smoking."

Bolton South East MP Dr Brian Iddon, who has regularly spoken of the risks of passive smoking, also joined the welcoming chorus.

"I'm pleased this day has arrived," he said. "We really should not be encouraging smoking and today is the day we start to abolish that sort of promotion."

But as Dr Iddon is the first to admit, the ban which came into force on Valentine's Day is more a step in the right direction than the Jonathan Edwards-style giant leap it has been portrayed as in some quarters.

The prohibition covers billboard and press advertising, as well as extending existing television bans, but it would be wrong to imagine all tobacco publicity has vanished in a puff of smoke.

Formula One, for instance, is exempted until the 2004-05 season because it is so reliant on cigarette firm sponsors. And companies are already finding other ways to promote their brands such as launching their own clothing brands.

Subtler, and perhaps more persuasive for the teenagers who health chiefs hope the advertising ban will protect, is the influence of role models.

These days celebrities such as Britney Spears, Kate Moss and Ozzy Osbourne are rarely pictured without fag in hand.

Dr Iddon believes they have a responsibility to young fans.

He said: "If somebody who's a pop idol or a sports star uses cigarettes then it will have a greater influence on younger people than anybody else."

Parents too are role models. Statistics show that children whose parents smoke are themselves twice as likely to take up smoking.

This lends added importance to the work of the town's Smoking Cessation Service, which has already helped hundreds of smokers kick the habit.

Four advisers, with extra staff drafted in at times of peak demand such as the New Year and national No Smoking Day on March 12, are there to help smokers shake off their addictions.

Bolton Primary Care Health Trust, which runs the cessation service, is developing a tobacco strategy to draw together existing anti-smoking initiatives into a comprehensive strategy.

These include a scheme run by trading standards using child 'spies' to ensure shops are not flouting the law by selling cigarettes to under-16s and a Greater Manchester-wide award scheme to reward responsible retailers.

Stopping people getting hooked on smoking in the first place, they say, is even better than weaning them off it. The Healthy Schools initiative which aims to give children information to make an informed decision rather than preach to them.

Other battles remain to be fought, among them the drive to restrict smoking in more public places, something Dr Iddon and Lesley Jones are keen to see extended.

But not everyone agrees with calls to combat the 'evil' weed. A spokeswoman for smokers' rights group Forest called for and end to what she called "nannying" by the government and health groups.

"We are not pro-smoking, we are pro-choice," she said. "Somebody who's availed themselves of all the information about the risks should be allowed to do what they choose."

There isn't strictly total unanimity when it comes to discussing the dangers of tobacco. It's more a case of close but no cigar.