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Puff Piece

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Puff Piece

By: John Safran
Narrated by: John Safran
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About this listen

 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?

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.©2021 John Safran (P)2021 Penguin Random House Australia Business Ethics Workplace & Organisational Behaviour Smoking Tobacco Business Witty Funny Thought-Provoking
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As a long time fan of John Safran, I found this title to be an outstanding change of pace in terms of subject matter while still staying true to his roots. It's got Father Bob, it's got Raspberry Cordial, it's got John's classic self doubt despite his being, to my mind, well established in his credentials. While I hope he never loses that charming angst, the quality of this book challenges the validity of his concerns.

An utterly shocking piece diving deep into Philip Morris and their seeming invulnerability through manipulation of language and seeming involvement in every aspect of our society. Don't be fooled into thinking this is just a take down of why smoking is bad for you, this is about corporate conspiracy and it's happening right now (written 2021).

John's shock at the lack of media coverage of what has gone on is surely shared by us, dear listeners, by the time the book is through. Actually way before that, but definitely by the end.

I've listened to all John's books and while I've enjoyed them all, this is by far the most important. Fundamentalists and Murders in Mississippi have nothing on big tobacco.

Read by the man himself, this is the only way to really enjoy anything by John in my opinion. The man with the golden lisp. If you love John, you've already got this book - if you're new then this is a fantastic place to start.

As a side note, I weirdly found myself wanting to vape after the first hour or so of the book, and I'm not a smoker, vapist or juicy fruiter. Maybe I'll suck my thumb instead.

Safran (Lucky) Strikes Again

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Relatives of Edward Sapir may not like this book; however, Bob redeems linguistic merit where necessary. Thanks John.

Philip Morris: International Juul Thief

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I thoroughly enjoyed this, although I'm going to need to know how much that wine cost.

Unsmoke the world, but at what IQOS... t

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If John Safran wrote more books, the world would be a better place! Hilarious, serious and clever. I felt like I was in the story with John.

Witty, hilarious and intriguing

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A terrific read. John Safran self narrates his hilarious, witty and poignant book on cigarettes, vaping, the tobacco industry and Phillip Morris. This book is a deep dive on how this company bends and twists around laws to keep people hooked on tobacco. And somehow I chuckled the whole way through. Highly recommend.

Brilliant, funny, insightful

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I loved it. Lifts the lid on how PhilipMorris manipulate us all to their benefit.

An entertaining read that'll open your eyes

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I found this book very interesting! The author went to great lengths to research and explain different points throughout.
The moral of the story of course is that smoking in whatever form you put it is cancer, is death, is bad and there is no way around it. And all of the “gimmicks” whatever you call the latest flavour - puffer sticks, e-cigarette, hot stick, vaporiser- it is all crap, all cause cancer and all are designed to make you addicted to something directly harmful to your body.

Unfortunately, the smoker in my family found the book too confronting and refused to listen after 1hr in. I, however, loved it! The narration pace is a bit slow, but you can just adjust it to x1.2 and it works smoothly.

Honestly, just listen to this book. It will give you extra points of view and ideas for conversations.

A great book with interesting research

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I loved learning about how everything is interconnected and what really goes on. The story just kept on giving.

Funny. Deep. Interesting.

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I’ve dug so deep for info about vaping and the industry since it helped me kick my 25 year cigarette addiction over 6 months ago. I’ve searched podcasts, articles, you name it. This is really the best resource I’ve found and it all makes more sense since listening. Bonus: I discovered John Safran who is pretty rad!

Much Needed & Hilarious

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AMAZING BOOK exposing the lies and deceptions of Philip Morris and the big tobacco industry players.
It was simultaneously captivating and disgusting to hear about the rotten crooks and the layers of horrible trickery that is taking place in such a fatal and dangerous industry. There’s is no level that they will not stoop to deceive anyone endangering their massive profits.
John did a fabulous job of maintaining my attention and intrigue while exploring and delivering a wealth of information and interviews.
Congratulations on such a great book and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has smoked or knows a smoker, or values the principles of honesty and integrity. Enjoy!

Filthy tactics of Big Tobacco!

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