Two documentaries reveal how lobbies are working to ensure smokers never stop

Be it a pack of cigarettes, inside a cinema hall or a restaurant, the health warning of smoking being "injurious to health" is staring at us, practically everywhere. Yet, this million-dollar industry continues to thrive and survive, with little restrain, perplexing health professionals and anti-tobacco activists alike. Two documentaries, Nadia Collot's The Tobacco Conspiracy and Virginia Smart's The 5th estate, which will be screened by The Hive Film Club this evening, offers an explanation as to why the battle against tobacco is far from over.

Saurabh Mistry

"Both these documentaries are a medium for educating folks not just about the hazards of smoking, but the cahoots that exist between the powerful and evil tobacco lobbies and governments all over the world," explains Saurabh Mistry, the curator of the films. While Collot's film, which is a result of a three-year-long investigation, deciphers the way in which the tobacco industry manages to maintain and increase its omnipotence to the detriment of the public health, Smart's documentary asks whether e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to cigarettes.

"What viewers will also witness is the tobacco industry's secrets used to lure young unsuspecting and naive consumers at large, and the price that the common man has to pay," says Mistry, adding, "The movies are extremely intelligent and quite educational as it raises some serious questions about the society we live in." Post the screening, the audience will also engage in a discussion on the issue.

When: 9.30 PM
Where: Cuckoo Cafe, 1st Floor, above Cuckoo Club, 5AA Pali Hill, Bandra West
entry: Rs 249
To book: in.bookmyshow.com

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