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A funeral home has insisted an darkly comic promotional item is not for sale, after an internet user's tweet went viral.

The company, in Carros, near Nice, had cigarette lighters made with a sobering message: "You smoke? Thank you … see you soon". The other side had the contact details of the funeral home.

It caught the eye of one internet user, who posted an image of the lighter on Twitter.

Since the tweet was posted - and retweeted tens of thousands of times - the firm has been inundated with requests for lighters but it said only 20 copies were made for employees and friends. There was never any intention to use the lighters for advertising purposes, the firm said.

"Our job is difficult, we have to manage the pain of the families. [The lighter] was for employees, that's all," a spokesperson told France 3, adding that the firm was aware that people whose health has been affected by cancer would not be amused.