A U.S. District judge on Monday blocked the federal government from requiring tobacco companies from putting graphic images on cigarette packages starting next year.

From Businessweek: "A U.S. District judge on Monday blocked the federal government from requiring tobacco companies from putting graphic images on cigarette packages starting next year."

More: "The images include a cloud of cigarette smoke within inches of a baby's face; a pair of healthy lungs next to the diseased lungs of a smoker and a warning that smoking causes fatal lung disease; a smoker's stained teeth and a lip diseased by cigarettes; and a dead smoker on an autopsy table with surgical stitches in his chest and the words "Smoking can kill you."

Some ideas:

• Talk to local smokers about the proposed warning label changes.
• Check in with local American Cancer Society officials on the ruling.
• If you have a local college, talk with a political science professor about free speech in this case.
• Publish an online poll asking readers what they think.