Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain had been fighting an ongoing battle against quack remedies, and had wanted specifically to get carbolic acid on the poisons register since 1882. Although without sympathy for the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company itself, Simpson casts doubt on whether "Carlill" was rightly decided. "The analytical problems arose in a particularly acute form in the smoke ball case. Thus it seemed very peculiar to say that there had been any sort of agreement between Mrs. Carlill and the company, which did not even know of her existence until January 20, when her husband wrote to them
A Is for Acid September 2002, but attracted a relatively small audience for a peak time programme. Overnight figures suggested 6 million viewers had tuned in to watch "A Is for Acid", a figure beaten by an episode of "Waking the Dead" which appeared in the same time slot on BBC One. A review in the "Manchester Evening News" the day after the film was shown was generally favourable: "Clunes might seem an unlikely choice for this sinister and demanding role...but he acquitted tremendously in his portrayal of the beaming, oily trickster with a murderous heart...Clunes made the killer plausible, disarming and businesslike as