Surgeon General

I

Introduction

Surgeon General, chief spokesperson on public health for the United States government. The surgeon general is appointed by the president of the United States, with the approval of Congress, and serves in the Cabinet. The chief duty of the surgeon general is to educate the American people about preventing disease and improving their health. The surgeon general also advises the president and the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) about public health matters. The surgeon general reports to the assistant secretary for health in HHS.

II

History of the Surgeon General

The government appointed the first surgeon general in 1871 to take charge of the Marine Hospital Service, which cared for ill and injured seamen. From 1912 to 1968 the surgeon general headed the U.S. Public Health Service. In that position the surgeon general was responsible for controlling infectious diseases, improving sanitation in rural areas, and other public health activities. In 1968 the Public Health Service became part of a reorganized Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (renamed the Department of Health and Human Services in 1979). No longer responsible for the Public Health Service, the surgeon general assumed responsibility educating the public on health issues of national interest.

III

Work of the Surgeon General

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.

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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.

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