As penance for the way it makes cigarette smoking look so deliciously sexy, fraught with romance and film noir mystique, and deeply satisfying on every physical and emotional level, Mad Men has teamed up with California’s City of Hope hospital to auction off a walk-on role in the show to benefit lung cancer treatment and research. Sandra Stern at Lionsgate said that Mad Men’s period-accurate depiction of smoking “is a vivid reminder of how far we’ve progressed in our attitudes toward smoking since then,” before taking a long, pensive drag on a perfectly rolled Lucky Strike, then allowing its calming cloud to drift in a hypnotic arc into the ether as the nicotine slipped quietly into her bloodstream, seeming to slow time completely and give every passing moment the weight of dramatic portent.
The 10-day auction lasts through Aug. 22, and will also include furniture, props, and dresses worn by both January Jones and Christina Hendricks, about which we’re sure you’ll have nothing but wholesome things to say.