Abstract: A smoking machine is disclosed for the automatic smoking of a smoking article. The smoking machine (10) includes a flexible seal (30) for occluding holes (40) in the smoking article (28) while the smoking article is smoked. This can allow “intensive” smoking tests to be carried out by occluding filter holes (40) in the smoking article.

Abstract: A probe for use in sampling rods from a mass flow of parallel rods moving perpendicular to their axes, the probe including an elongate body of generally wedge shaped cross section which has first and second main faces diverging away from a narrow edge to a wider base and which is for mounting parallel to such rods to extend across and laterally beyond such mass flow with the narrow edge facing upstream; an elongate passage extending within the body longitudinally thereof for accommodating a rod from such mass flow; a first elongate opening in the first face through which a rod from such mass flow can fall laterally into the passage for longitudinal transport along the passage away from such mass flow; and a second elongate opening through which a rod can drop laterally from the passage out of the body after such longitudinal transport.

Abstract: A probe (1) for use in sampling rods from a mass flow of parallel rods moving perpendicular to their axes, the probe comprising an elongate body of generally wedge shaped cross section which has first (7) and second (9) main faces diverging away from a narrow edge (3) to a wider base (5) and which is for mounting parallel to such rods to extend across and laterally beyond such mass flow with the narrow edge facing upstream; an elongate passage (10) extending within said body longitudinally thereof for accommodating a rod from such mass flow; a first elongate opening (21) in the first face through which a rod from such mass flow can fall laterally into said passage for longitudinal transport along said passage away from such mass flow; and a second elongate opening (25) through which a rod can drop laterally from said passage out of said body after such longitudinal transport.