HEALTH CARE

Smelling Thin: Ron Nicklaw has a nose for news.

The Huntington Beach distributor for Nutrition for Life, a provider of weight-loss products, said he is hoping to cash in on a brand-new product that he said is revolutionary.

The product is called the Thin Pen, a pocket-sized device that Nicklaw said will pare unwanted pounds off people who simply stick it in their noses and take a sniff.

That’s right. You just sniff the pen and watch your weight go down, Nicklaw says.

The Thin Pen takes advantage of a recently completed study by a Chicago doctor who discovered that people who smelled certain aromas right before eating had a smaller appetite.

Dr. Alan Hirsch found that, of the 3,000 people he subjected to a variety of smells, such as green apple, banana and peppermint, he noticed average weight losses of five pounds.

Nicklaw said he is beginning to market the three-set Thin Pens, which cost $31.95 for the apple, banana and peppermints scents, through the local newspapers and mail-order ads.

“I was skeptical at first,” Nicklaw said. “But I had a chance to study it, and it looks real interesting.”