Funds in other states are already backing away from their tobacco holdings.

But it was not a desire to become politically correct that recently prompted the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as Calpers, to divest its $525 million in tobacco holdings.

The Investor Responsibility Research Center says Calpers is the fifth state employee retirement system to divest or restrict its tobacco holdings.

The decision by the Teachers' Retirement System is the second by a state pension fund nationally, and the first in New York, that calls for the divesting of at least some tobacco holdings.

B.A.T. has fulfilled its goal of lessening its reliance on tobacco holdings in winning its eight-month battle for Farmers Group.

Anti-smoking forces said Florida's decision might help prod other states to divest their tobacco holdings.

Johns Hopkins will sell stock and bonds valued at $5.3 million from four companies with tobacco holdings, a university spokesman, Dennis O'Shea, said.

Urging the city to divest its $29 billion pension fund of tobacco holdings, Mark Green, the Public Advocate, announced yesterday that the fund currently has $309 million invested in tobacco stocks.

It is also an attempt by Mr. McCall to allay the concerns of anti-tobacco groups, which have been pressuring the state to divest itself of tobacco holdings.

IN its bitter battle to thwart a $4.3 billion takeover attempt by a British conglomerate with tobacco holdings, Farmers Group Inc. is resorting to an unusual takeover defense.