Thank You For Smoking Analysis

In the film, Thank you for smoking, director Jason Reitman follows the exploits of the tobacco industry’s primary spokesman. Nick Naylor is a lobbyist who uses superior spin tactics to extol the virtues of smoking all while trying to remain a good example for his young son. This paper will look to identify the major issues of the film, and answer the following questions; who are the moral agents, what guidelines the media has to obey and how media professionals could prepare for the ethical challenges presented in the film.
The three main issues in this film. The first issue of the film is that the big tobacco companies are using lobbyists to get and keep people interested in cigarette smoking, Nick Naylor is their spokesperson. Naylor is working for a tobacco lobby called the “Academy of Tobacco Studies”. The ATS had been researching the link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, claiming that their research (financed by the tobacco companies) had found no link. Naylor’s job consisted primarily of spinning the questionable research by the ATS, …show more content…
Everybody in society is against him, he gets death threat on national television. Nick also has to think about his son.
There are several guidelines that the media are required to adhere to, these are based on a code of ethics they include but are not limited to; advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty and fairness. In this film Heather failed to follow even one of these guidelines, Nick was subsequently able to put a spin on her story…he subsequently came out on