As the film goes on, Naylor experiences moral conflict. He starts to doubt the industry he worked so hard to keep profitable, even if he was viewed as "the devil."
He's indecisive on if his job is worth more than being a good role model for his son.
The Power of Selling:
The idea to make "anti-teen smoking" advertisements to "encourage" teens not to smoke is genius, knowing that teens want to rebel any way possible. If it's said that they should no longer smoke, it's going to drive more sales.
In the film, his boss BR did state that teens are the "bread and butter" of the industry. So it's very smart to encourage teens to not smoke, knowing that they will anyway.
It's not that Nick is evil in any way advising that smoking is not bad for you, but it is his job to promote cigarettes.
One of the biggest impacts of influence is with movies and TV shows. Naylor's idea to push cigarettes back into movies like the old days is because "they're cool" or they fit a character. Naylor seems to know the ideal target market he wants to continue pursuing.
Adding cigarettes in movies for me personally wouldn't have any impact because I have no interest in smoking. It may be more susceptible for someone who never had the idea of smoking or has seen it being used in movies to start having interest.
Because of the strong influence advertising has, cigarette commercials have been banned in hopes that it will lower the cost of another life that gets taken from smoking.
Why Doesn't The Government Outlaw Cigarettes?
Cigarette ads are a form of commercial speech, which is speech that proposes a transaction.
Commercial speech is protected under the First Amendment, but doesn't guarantee the fullest protection by the Supreme Court.
From the National Library of Medicine, "one of the main arguments for the continuance of tobacco sales is that the government should not dictate what vice the public engages in."
The government collects billions of dollars from the tobacco industry, so why would the they cut out the revenue they receive?
"Governments enjoy tobacco revenue and are willing to continue to allow disease and death from tobacco smoking," said the National Library of Medicine.
Tobacco has no benefits, but it cannot be outlawed due to its governed protection.
Cigarette ads were however banned from television in 1971.
It's up to the people to understand the risk that comes with smoking in the decisions they make around it.
Cigarettes Today
In today's age, we shifted from cigarettes to e-cigarettes or vapes. Vaping was told to us from a young age that it is not harmful at all and seen as a tool to help cigarette smokers quit, but was that ever true?
Funny enough, the same company, Big Tobacco, is the initial composer of pushing out the vapes into the world, yet the same people want to argue that "it's way better for you."
I can argue that it's important to do your own research. With any form of cigarette, it's all about the choice. Living in America, we have our right of choice; if people want to smoke, let them smoke. If people want to drink, let them drink. I'll argue that no matter how many studies happen to prove that smoking is terrible for you and that it causes cancer, there will always be someone who does it because it's their choice.
