''Thank You for Smoking'' is a novel by Christopher Buckley, first published in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, which tells the story of the fictional character Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist during the 1990s.

Plot summary

Nick Naylor is the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a tobacco industry lobbying firm that promotes the benefits of cigarettes. He utilizes high-profile media events and intentionally provocative rhetoric in order to highlight what his clients view as an unfair crusade against tobacco and nicotine products. The political

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

is heightened by Naylor's informal association with lobbyists from other industries that are subjected to routine vilification in the media, e.g. Polly Bailey, a lobbyist for the

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

/spirits industry, and Bobby Jay Bliss, who represents the firearms industry. Collectively, they form what is known as the M.O.D. Squad, a reference to the title of a

police drama The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as ...

, although in this case, "M.O.D." stands for "Merchants Of Death". A pivotal point in the plot occurs when Naylor is kidnapped by a clandestine group who attempt to kill him by covering him with

nicotine patch A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a process for smoking cessation. Endorsed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it ...

es. The search for the perpetrators of the crime leads to surprising results. In this respect, the plot mirrors one of Buckley's other satirical novels, ''

Little Green Men Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoids with green skin and sometimes antennae on their heads. The term "little green men" came into popular usage in reference to aliens during the reports of ...

''.

Film adaptation

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

originally bought the rights to produce a film version of the novel. A film based on the novel was released in 2005. While the characters are essentially the same, the plot differs in some significant ways. Most noticeably, Naylor's relationship with his son is given a more prominent role, and the kidnapping conspiracy is downplayed. In addition, the ending is different in both events and tone.

References

1994 American novels Novels about public relations American satirical novels Novels by Christopher Buckley American novels adapted into films {{1990s-satirical-novel-stub