Thank You For Smoking [Motion picture]. (2006). USA: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Released in 2006 and based on Christopher Buckley’s 1994 novel of the same title, Thank You For Smoking is a film that provides a cynical sense of humor to the lobbying industry, specifically tobacco lobbying. The main character, Nick Naylor (played by Aaron Eckhart, spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son. This in itself poses a problem as he has to find the balance between doing his job and protecting his son.
The primary ethical issue in this film is actions of Nick Naylor, the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, which is a tobacco industry-lobbying firm that promotes the benefits of cigarettes. He has a clear lack of ethical behavior and almost takes pride in his ability to ignore moral and ethical guidelines. He describes this as “moral flexibility”. His strong suit is spinning the truth in arguments so that he never appears wrong. At one point, in a conversation with his son, he gives the example of arguing whether chocolate or vanilla is the better flavor. He explains to his son that it doesn’t matter which is actually better, but that people should have the right to choose which they prefer because that is the definition of freedom. He continues on to explain that it doesn’t matter whether he convinces people that vanilla is the better flavor, as long as he convinces them that the person arguing for chocolate is wrong (because this means that he, in turn, is right). This is the perfect example of his “moral flexibility” being applied to a situation much less controversial than cigarettes.
In the introduction to the movie, Naylor discusses the inner-workings of the Academy of Tobacco Studies and mentions their team of “sharks” (lawyers), and how they’re drafted out of law school and bribed into the company with timeshares and sports cars. This introduces another component of Naylor’s lack of ethics. He and the company he works for are not beyond being “morally flexible” themselves – they draft people to work for them and bribe them to follow the same (lack of) ethical guidelines.
Another ethical issue in Thank You For Smoking involves journalist Heather Holloway (played by Katie Holmes), who is pursuing a story about Nick Naylor. She goes to incredible lengths to find out more about Nick (by sleeping with him on multiple occasions), and loses her credibility in the process. She publishes an article in “The Washington Probe” revealing all of Nick’s secrets, including his meetings with the “MOD Squad” (Merchants of Death – firearm lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss and alcohol lobbyist Polly Bailey), and the hush money he delivered to a former cigarette representative who contracted lung cancer as a result. This issue is not only prominent in the movie but in the real world as well, where the publishing of “off record” and unsubstantiated information is prevalent.
Media Ethics in the Morning 