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

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, 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 shaming o ...

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 most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

/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, 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 (FD ...

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 humanoid creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures known for cau ...

''.

Film adaptation

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

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