DOC EDGE 16 REVIEW | A BILLION LIVES
The documentary A Billion Lives is the satirical novel-turned-movie Thank You for Smoking brought to life.
Director Aaron Biebert turns a microscope on the history of the tobacco industry, from it’s obscure roots as a ceremonial cleanser used only by Incan priests to the massive leap in popularity during the industrial revolution that turned tobacco into the mushroom cloud estimated to cause a billion people to die early this century.
More than a boring timeline of history though, A Billion Lives delves into the politics, corruption and dirty spin tactics of the fight to keep the public addicted to smoking. The documentary features illuminating interviews with former Executive Director of the World Health Organisation Derek Yach and former President of the World Medical Association Dr. Delon Human, which reveal that even in the early twentieth century studies from the tobacco companies themselves demonstrated that cigarettes were causing death.
Particularly interesting is the interview with David Goerlitz, the man who was the face of Winston Tobacco for years, but became an outspoken opponent of tobacco when his older brother died of cancer. Goerlitz provides an inside look at the massive marketing machine that is Big Tobacco and the vulnerable segments of the population that they targeted. A hint at damning information the tobacco companies were hiding can be surmised from Goerlitz recalling the day he realised that none of the senior tobacco executives smoked. When he asked why, they replied, “We don’t smoke the shit, we just sell it!”
The second half of the documentary focuses on vaping, the revolutionary new alternative to smoking. While Hon Lik, the inventor of vaping, discusses his hopefulness that the invention will save lives, the documentary goes on to investigate in detail all the misinformation being spread about vaping being harmful. A Billion Lives reveals that the anti-vaping lobbies are all funded by companies, and even governments, who have substantial interests in the money made from tobacco.
Public health comes second to capitalism in this documentary that encourages you to question the information you are sold.
First published for Mac+Mae 2016.
