Ethical Issues Of Thank You For Smoking
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In the movie “Thank You for Smoking” the smoking industry is coming under the attack from Senator Finistirre over putting a skull and crossbones on all the packs of cigarettes. The smoking industry has created the “The Academy for Tobacco Studies” with researchers to prove that there are no problems with smoking. The main character Nick Nalors job, the chief Spokesperson for Big Tobacco, is to discredit all the problems associated with smoking to the public. He had a relationship with a reporter, Heather, thinking that she would not write anything bad about him or anyone associated with the smoking industry. She backstabbed him. He forced an invitation from the senator to appear at a congressional hearing. Nick Nalor convinced enough people to not put the skull and crossbones on the cigarettes. Then he quit his job right before the smoking industry paid out millions to judgments against it and forced many out of their jobs.
There were many ethical issues in this movie. One is when Nick was on the talk show there was a boy that had cancer at the age of 15 from smoking. He, Nick, turned the situation around to make it seem that the industry would not make any money of a product that kills people. Since there is no concrete evidence that smoking is addictive or harmful then it must be OK. When he meets with the “Death Squad” they all know that each of their products alcohol, guns and tobacco appeal to young people a kills many each year but they continue to defend them. Nick teaches his son that nothing can be totally proven. So if you argue your point enough you can never be wrong. Also he promotes teen advertising that promotes not smoking but it cant be too persuasive. He takes his son on a trip to California to get smoking back in movies by popular actors. He is then sent to pay off the “Marlboro Man” his son is there with him when he tells the guy that this is to keep him quiet. Senator Finisher primary objective is to attack the industry at all costs. He has Nick kidnapped and patches put all over him to convince him the consequences of smoking.
The actions of the Nick made the smoking industry make billions of dollars off of the sale of cigarettes. Thus making and keeping jobs for people. The stockholders were making money in the stock market. Nick was making cigarettes