Graphic images blocked on cigarette packs

RICHMOND, Va. -- A judge blocked a federal requirement that would have begun forcing U.S. tobacco companies to put large graphic images on their cigarette packages later this year to show the dangers of smoking and encourage smokers to quit lighting up.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled Wednesday that the federal mandate to put the images, which include a sewn-up corpse of a smoker, on cigarette packs violates the free speech amendment to the Constitution.

He had temporarily blocked the requirement in November.

The largest U.S. tobacco companies had questioned the constitutionality of the labels, saying they force displaying government anti-smoking advocacy more prominently than their own branding.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that the public interest outweighs the companies' free speech rights.

Leon ruled that the distinction can be frustratingly blurry, but here the line seems quite clear." -- AP