The username or password you entered is incorrect. Please try again or use the Forgot Password link
You have been successfully logged-in
Log in to your account
Password Recovery
To recover your password please fill in your email address
Create An Account
Please fill in below form to create an account with us
There were errors updating your password:
Your password was successfully updated
Password Reset
Please set your new password
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- With his trademark humour and word-smithery, John Safran delivers another wholly enjoyable exposé, this time into the world of Big Tobacco behemoth, Philip Morris. As compelling as a thriller, I found myself reading this well beyond my body clock's recommended 'lights out'.
The thing that has caught Safran's eye is Philip Morris' new product, IQOS - or HeatStick. As he follows different threads and tries to fathom exactly what this new product is - and why he seems much more concerned about it than nearly everyone else he speaks to - he also cleverly manages to thread his core preoccupations throughout the narrative: religion, race, ethics, and Scrabble.
In pondering why this reading experience is so enjoyable, I realise that what he is doing is a Safran documentary in word form, bringing his particular frequency and personality to the fore as he fossicks for the truth. You decide whether you buy Philip Morris' transformation as a 'health and technology' business. Craig Kirchner
Wild, hilarious and thought-provoking, Puff Piece is a probing look into Big Tobacco and the vaping industry, and how words can be literally a matter of life and death. The folks that bring you Marlboro - Philip Morris - are wheezing, slowly dying. Cigarettes are out of favour with everyone, from world governments and investors to, increasingly, smokers. So, what's their plan? Prepare to be dazzled. Or, at the very least, befuddled.
Philip Morris has announced they will shut down as a cigarette company, and relaunch as a health enterprise, dedicated to convincing the one billion smokers of the world to quit.
The ever-curious John Safran leaves his apartment to find out what on God's green earth is going on. As he starts digging away he discovers a company up to brand new shenanigans, wangling their way into unexpected places, desperately trying to keep their tobacco business alive by brandishing a mysterious new doohickey called an IQOS.
And not only that, now they're upending language itself, changing the meaning of words. Will they slip past bans by convincing governments they don't sell 'cigarettes' but rather 'HeatSticks', and that these don't emit 'smoke' but 'aerosol'? Can John get the real story out of them without his life catching fire?
By:
John Safran Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Country of Publication: Australia Dimensions:
Height: 233mm,
Width: 153mm,
Spine: 30mm
Weight: 556g ISBN:9781760890155 ISBN 10: 1760890154 Pages: 320 Publication Date:31 August 2021 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
John Safran is an award-winning documentary-maker of provocative and hilarious takes on race, the media, religion and other issues. John first hit TV screens in 1997 on Race Around the World (ABC-TV). Both John Safran's Music Jamboree (SBS, 2002) and John Safran vs. God (SBS, 2004) won Australian Film Industry awards for Best Comedy Series and Most Original Concept, and were also nominated for Logie Awards. Other shows include John Safran's Race Relations (ABC-TV, 2009) which was nominated for two awards at the prestigious Rose d'Or Festival in Switzerland and Speaking in Tongues (SBS, 2005-06). John also co-hosted Sunday Night Safran, a radio talk show on Triple J with cranky but beloved Catholic priest, Father Bob Maguire.
Reviews for Puff Piece
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- With his trademark humour and word-smithery, John Safran delivers another wholly enjoyable exposé, this time into the world of Big Tobacco behemoth, Philip Morris. As compelling as a thriller, I found myself reading this well beyond my body clock's recommended 'lights out'.
The thing that has caught Safran's eye is Philip Morris' new product, IQOS - or HeatStick. As he follows different threads and tries to fathom exactly what this new product is - and why he seems much more concerned about it than nearly everyone else he speaks to - he also cleverly manages to thread his core preoccupations throughout the narrative: religion, race, ethics, and Scrabble.
In pondering why this reading experience is so enjoyable, I realise that what he is doing is a Safran documentary in word form, bringing his particular frequency and personality to the fore as he fossicks for the truth. You decide whether you buy Philip Morris' transformation as a 'health and technology' business. Craig Kirchner
