The Last Smoker
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"The Last Smoker" (Japanese: 最後の喫煙者, "Saigo no Kitsuensha") is a 1987 short story by Yasutaka Tsutsui.[1] It has been adapted for television and radio. An English translation by Andrew Driver was published in the collection Salmonella Men on Planet Porno (ISBN 9780307377265) in 2008.[2]
The story deals with the repression of dissent.[3] It is set in a future Japan where smokers are persecuted to the point of extinction, and the last smoker is stuffed and preserved in a museum.[4]
Adaptations
Television
The story was adapted for television in Japan in 1995. Nine years after being broadcast it was said to have left a strong impression on audiences.[4]
Radio
The English-language radio adaption is a 45-minute Loftus Production radio drama broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 20 February 2009,[5] picked that day as an editor's choice[6] and listed as a "pick of the day".[7] It was adapted by Julia Dover[6] and the final program directed by Matt Thompson.[6] The actors include John Byrne,[7] Eileen McCallum,[5] Madeleine Worrall,[6] Stewart Conn,[5] and Madeleine Brolly.[5]