'Thank You For Smoking' Reaction

Is it better to win an argument factually or to defeat the opposing side emotionally? This ethical dilemma was an overarching theme throughout the 2005 film Thank You for Smoking. This movie revolves around the life and career of Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for the Big Tobacco Company, and the trials and tribulations with the morality of his job.

Naylor is a vice president in a corporate setting who is trying his hardest to move up the food chain at the Academy of Tobacco Studies. His immediate boss, ‘BR,’ has little respect for Naylor, and has lofty expectations for him. BR sends Naylor on a business trip to Los Angeles to pay off a former cigarette spokesman, as well as to get cigarettes more relevance in movies. The ethical questions of this trip are only ratcheted up by having Nick’s son, Joey, tag along and ask questions at every turn. Naylor describes himself to his son as akin to a lawyer defending a client who is guilty. This is exemplified in the line “I don’t have to prove that you’re wrong, I just have to prove that I’m right.”

Naylor’s seemingly budding career as a tobacco lobbyist goes into a tailspin when he gets interviewed by an attractive young reporter for The Washington Probe. Naylor unveils all of his dirty secrets to this reporter, in the midst of a scandalous affair with her. The reporter’s eventual hit piece puts Naylor’s career at a crossroads, right as he is to testify before Congress on health risks and smoking. Despite the big blow, Naylor does still appear in this hearing, and his ability to spin the argument and woo the crowd pays off. Senator Finistirre of Vermont wants all cigarette packs to have a skull and crossbones logo on them, while Naylor argues that public knowledge of smoking dangers is already high enough. The antagonist Senator is left looking like a fool, while Naylor is seen as the winner.

Although all seems right in his world and with his career, Naylor decides after the Congressional hearing to leave the tobacco industry entirely. He had a moment of realization that his talents could be better used in another field, thus he turned towards starting his own Strategic Relations firm. Rather than arguing for cigarettes now, Naylor now argues that cell phone use does not have any links to brain cancer.

Thank You for Smoking is an excellent representation of the power of controlling a public narrative, and how easily people’s opinions can be swayed through emotions over facts. Naylor knew all along that smoking causes lung cancer, but his “moral flexibility that goes beyond most people” allowed him to spin the argument to being pro-tobacco. Naylor did change his heart however during and after the Congressional hearing, resulting in him leaving the tobacco industry to start his own company. This showed a much better example for his young, impressionable son who questioned the ethics of being pro-smoking. While Naylor did simply trade one unhealthy vice for another in terms of lobbying, cell phone use is much more commonplace now than smoking, so public opinion is more heavily on his side.