Smoking Theme in Thunderball

perdogg

Has anyone noticed that there is a lot talk in Thunderball about smoking? Not just talk about Bond or anyone character smoking, but actual discussion regarding Smoking, not smoking, giving up smoking, controlling one smoking, being able to smoke in front of the boss, not being able to smoke in a meeting, changing what one smokes, talking about brands of smoking, smelling smoke free, being sexually attracted to the character on the smoking package.

Is there is an underlying message in it all?

AlphaOmegaSin

I think Attitudes were starting to change in the early 60's when it came to Smoking?

Thunderpussy

Fleming himself suffered from ill health and I'm sure got loads of infomation from his
Doctors on quitting smoking, so put some of it in his novel.

superado

Yes, I'm sure that at the writing of TB, Fleming received more exposure about health issues than he desired, including a lot of admonitions about his lifestyle and treatments behind the Shrublands experience in the book, including sitz baths and colonics.

AlphaOmegaSin

I'm not personally sure, but did Fleming base Shrublands on any perticuler Spa?

superado

AlphaOmegaSin wrote:

I'm not personally sure, but did Fleming base Shrublands on any perticuler Spa?

From page 301 of Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories by John Griswold

“Shrublands was based on Fleming’s observations made in 1956 while staying at the Enton Hall Natural Health Resort…located in Witley, Surrey, England…Enton Hall grew as a health resort and became renowned as a naturopathic and osteopathic clinic. They used fasting, detoxifying diets, and regimes to aid elimination of accumulated toxins (enemas, colonic lavage, sitz baths, salt glows, hot blanket baths), and enhancement of body function and movement through massage, osteopathy and chiropractic.”

Shatterfang

There might be a metaphor in there somewhere. Cigarettes are often symbols for death but i don't know if Fleming was into the whole metaphor thing. Beyond that, thats who Bond is. In the books he is obsessed with cigarettes, coffee, and scrambled eggs