SAN DIEGO —— A group that has been working for more than a decade to curb what it calls frivolous lawsuits is stepping up its efforts this month and will host a daylong rally and conduct a news conference at a swap meet in San Diego today.

Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse has launched a new "sick of lawsuits" campaign that includes a traveling billboard perched on a flatbed truck featuring lipstick-red lips with the question "Are you ready to kiss your healthcare goodbye?" emblazoned on it.

Adrienne "Andy" Kottner, who directs the San Diego branch of the group, said Friday that personal-injury attorneys soliciting people who took the recently removed anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx set a perfect example of the kind of lawsuits the group opposes. Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, removed it after studies indicated an elevated risk of heart attack or stroke.

Kottner said hospitals, nursing homes and health insurers have seen their costs escalate dramatically because of lawsuits and "defensive medicine" such as tests and procedures performed solely to avoid litigation. That raises the cost of health care for all, she said.

The recently approved federal legislation that moves class action lawsuits to federal court is nothing more than a baby step in the reforms that are needed, Kottner said.

Today's event starts at 8 a.m. and goes until 3 p.m., with the news conference set for 2 p.m. at the swap meet at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd. in San Diego.

For more information on Kottner's group, see its Web site: www.sickoflawsuits.org.