California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Tobacco Ads Ordered Off Transit Vehicles

Tobacco ads have been ordered off city buses and light-rail cars in a move proponents hope will steer passengers away from smoking. Cigarette and alcohol ads were banned from city public transportation by a vote of the Public Utilities Commission a year ago, but because of various contract regulations, the ban did not take effect until the beginning of the year. Dan Liebert, a leading proponent of the ban, said he was inspired by his own struggle to quit smoking. “I felt that the city should not be an accomplice in trying to encourage people to take up a habit which causes so much suffering,” said Liebert, a health educator at Alameda County Juvenile Hall.