In one of the first challenges to the tobacco-regulation law passed by Congress last year, a federal judge in Kentucky has upheld most of the legislation but said that banning tobacco companies from using color ads and graphics in ads was an infringement on free speech, Dow Jones reported Jan. 5.

U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. also said that tobacco firms should be able to inform the public that their products are regulated by the FDA, but threw out the bulk of the lawsuit filed by Reynolds American Inc. and Commonwealth Brands Inc.

Significantly, McKinley ruled that federal, state and local governments could still impose restrictions on tobacco products and marketing that exceed those enumerated in the law.