TOBACCO BILL VOTE COULD BENEFIT L.A.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

The U.S. Senate vote blocking tobacco legislation this year may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the city and county of Los Angeles, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said Thursday.

``It frees us up to proceed full steam ahead with our lawsuit,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``I look forward to trying this case in court. It allows counties and cities to prosecute these cases in front of judges and juries. Big Tobacco may have brought themselves bigger problems than they thought.''

Los Angeles County sued tobacco companies in August 1996, joining states and communities around the country in challenging the tobacco industry. Now that federal legislation has been delayed for at least a year, plaintiffs can move ahead individually in court.

``If Congress had acted, it might have taken away our right to (pursue) such a suit,'' he said.

The Los Angeles lawsuit is expected to be coordinated with similar cases brought by 13 other counties, the city of Los Angeles, the city of San Francisco and the state of California, and is slated to go to trial in February 1999.

The suit claims tobacco companies have violated a section of the California Business and Professional Code, which outlaws dishonest and deceptive business practices, including targeting minors in advertising.

``I'm a classic case of who they went after,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``You never lose that temptation.''

The suit seeks reimbursement for the $200 million to $300 million the county pays annually to treat smoking-related illnesses in its public health system, which provides care to the county's 2.7 million uninsured residents.