Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co product called the "smoke ball" and claimed it to be a cure for influenza and a number of other diseases. (The 1889–1890 flu pandemic was estimated to have killed 1 million people.) The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (or phenol). The tube would be inserted into a user's nose and squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours. The nose would run, ostensibly flushing out viral infections. The Company published advertisements in the "Pall Mall Gazette" and other newspapers on November 13, 1891, claiming that it would pay £100
Litigation before the judgment in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co Litigation before the judgment in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co The Litigation before the judgment in "Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company" was a rather decorated affair, considering that a future Prime Minister served as counsel for the company. A close reading of the submissions and the decision in the Queen's Bench show that the result of the Court of Appeal was not inevitable or necessarily a decision on orthodox principles of previous case law. For the facts and full final decision, see "Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company". At first instance, on the 4th of July 1892, in