Mask To Beat Smog Lectors are worried that another smog disaster might hit London this winter. Last December it killed 4,000 people and made tens of thousands seriously ill. The doctors regard smog (smoke laden fog) with much anxiety. If another smog arrives doctors want everyone in London to wear a simple gauze filter, fitting over the nose and mouth, and tying with tapes likes a surgeons mask. Here two girls demonstrate the idea. October 28, 1953. (Photo by Daily Express Picture).