MY mention in 25 Years Ago on November 17 of a 'safer' synthetic tobacco being launched brought a letter from H. Hutchinson, of Springside Road, Bury, who said that the story reminded him that Robert Fletcher's Barnfield Mill at Stoneclough (a tobacco factory) was for quite a few years involved in the processing of this safe tobacco.

"It was a joint venture between ICI and Robert Fletcher's, and a new mill was built in Glasgow, but it never went into production. The story which went round at the time was that the Government insisted in taxing it like tobacco. And it had to have chemicals added to make it taste like tobacco,

"For whatever reason, it never got off the ground." MY mention in 25 Years Ago on November 17 of a 'safer' synthetic tobacco being launched brought a letter from H. Hutchinson, of Springside Road, Bury, who said that the story reminded him that Robert Fletcher's Barnfield Mill at Stoneclough (a tobacco factory) was for quite a few years involved in the processing of this safe tobacco.

"It was a joint venture between ICI and Robert Fletcher's, and a new mill was built in Glasgow, but it never went into production.

"The story which went round at the time was that the Government insisted in taxing it like tobacco. And it had to have chemicals added to make it taste like tobacco.

"For whatever reason, it never got off the ground."