Surgeon General Work in the United States

Surgeon General Work of the Surgeon General

Introduction to Surgeon General Work

To inform Americans about health matters, the surgeon general periodically issues scientific reports and sponsors public information campaigns. Among the longest and most influential of these activities has been an antismoking campaign that started in the 1960s.

The first surgeon general’s report linking smoking with lung cancer appeared in 1957 but received little notice. In 1964 Surgeon General Luther L. Terry released a landmark report titled Smoking and Health, produced by a panel of scientific experts. This report linked smoking with coronary heart disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other illnesses, as well as with lung cancer, and it prompted government efforts to reduce smoking in the United States. These efforts included placing warning labels on cigarette packages, eliminating cigarette advertising on television, and banning smoking in public places. Later reports by the surgeon general raised awareness of the dangers to nonsmokers of inhaling secondhand smoke. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop brought new energy to the government’s antismoking campaign in the 1980s.

During the 1980s the surgeon general played a key role in educating and reassuring Americans about the causes of AIDS and the transmission of the AIDS-causing virus (see Human Immunodeficiency Virus). During the 1990s and early 2000s the surgeon general released reports on maternal and child health, mental health, obesity, suicide prevention, exercise and fitness, responsible sexual behavior, and underage drinking. A report entitled Healthy People 2010, which came out in 2000, spelled out goals to reduce disparities in the incidence of certain diseases among racial, ethnic, and economic groups in the United States, along with reducing inequalities in health care access.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Surgeon General Work in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Surgeon General Work

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