Frenchman develops pills to make flatulence smell of roses

65-year-old inventor says he came up with his range of indigestion tablets after he was "nearly suffocated" by the smell of farts

The 65-year-old artist and inventor says his pills are aimed at easing indigestion
The 65-year-old artist and inventor says his pills are aimed at easing indigestion Credit: Photo: Alamy

A Frenchman has developed a range of pills aimed at making people’s flatulence smell sweeter - of chocolate or of roses - which he says will make the perfect Christmas present.

The 65-year-old artist and inventor says his pills are aimed at easing indigestion and are made of 100 percent natural ingredients such as fennel, seaweed and blueberries.

The pills are sold on the internet under the Lutin Malin (Crafty Imp) website pilulepet.com and have been approved by health authorities, according to Christian Poincheval, who is based in the village of Gesvres in western France.

For this year’s festive season he has added a new product to the range which he has titled “The Father Christmas fart pill that gives your farts the scent of chocolate”.

They retail at €9.99 euros (£8) for a jar of 60 and bring benefits such as “the reduction of gas and bloating.”

Other products listed on the site, which features pictures of the bearded Mr Poincheval posing as an imp, include rose-perfumed fart pills and tablets to reduce the pong of canine flatulence.

Mr Poincheval said he came up with the idea for the pills one evening when he was enjoying a hearty meal with some friends.

“Our farts were so smelly we were nearly suffocated. Something had to be done,” he said.

So he began researching natural ingredients that would reduce flatulence and after months of experimentation came up with the recipe for his pills.

He has been selling the pills since 2006 and says he sells several hundred a month.

“I have all sorts of customers,” he told the Telegraph. “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.”

Mr Poincheval said he even has a number of British clients who buy his products online.