This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Tobacco companies are fighting efforts in the United States and Australia to make their products less appealing.

In Washington, a federal judge last week blocked the Food and Drug Administration from requiring new warning labels on cigarette packs.

Judge Richard Leon ruled in a case brought by five tobacco companies.

The judge temporarily stopped a new federal rule to require large new warnings starting next September. These include color images such as a dead body or diseased lungs.

Simple text warnings now appear.

Congress called for color images showing the dangers of smoking, similar to what Canada does. But the tobacco companies say the new requirements approved in June violate their free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution.