Abstract
"Thank you For Smoking" is a movie from 2005, about a tobacco industry lobbyist, Nick Naylor. As the negative effects of tobacco on health are no longer easy to deny, the tobacco companies join in the creation of the Academy of Tobacco Studies. The purpose of this academy is to prove scientifically that tobacco is not addictive, or that nicotine and lung cancer are linked in any way. Nick Naylor describes his work in these terms: "I get paid to talk. I don't have an MD or law degree, I've got a bachelor in kicking ass and taking names". He's the spin control specialist, and he really enjoys it. The first scene of the movie is a perfect example of Nick Naylor's talent to spin. On a TV show, surrounded by anti-tobacco associations and a young boy dying from cancer, Nick ends up accusing the associations from profiting off the death of the cancer boy, and proves the concern of tobacco companies for the American children by announcing the launch of a 50 million dollars campaign aimed at persuading kids not to smoke.
