Frenchman's Flatulence Pills 'Make Unpleasant Whiffs Smell Like Roses'

The embarrassment of smelly flatulence could be consigned to history by a Frenchman's pill that makes malodorous whiffs smell like roses.

If they work, the pills could make family Christmases very different, filling the air with flower petal scent and not part-digested turkey lunches.

Inventor Christian Poincheval claimed he was inspired after being "nearly suffocated" by the smell of flatulence after a dinner one evening.

His pill is made from natural ingredients such as blueberries, fennel and seaweed. The promise is this combination makes for sweet-smelling gaseous emissions and also helps reduce bloating.

Poincheval admitted: "Our farts were so smelly we were nearly suffocated. Something had to be done."

Creating a cure for intolerable odours is a challenge, considering the human nose is capable of distinguishing between a whopping one trillion different scents, found a study.

Poincheval's solution costs around £8 a packet on his website. He told the Telegraph Christmas is boom time: "Some buy them because they have problems with flatulence and some buy them as a joke to send to their friends. Christmas always see a surge in sales."