The Surgeon General - what I didn't know. [View all]

[hedgehog]

I thought that the Surgeon General was more or less a spokeperson. I still recall the big story when the Surgeon General announced that smoking tobacco will likely kill you.

What I didn't know was that the Surgeon General is in charge of a group of public health professionals who are available to assist during public health crises and a reserve group ready to be deployed in the event of a health emergency.

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/duties/index.html

In other words, if we had a Surgeon General, we wouldn't need an Ebola Czar.


I would also say this - my impression is that the CDC provides the science, and the Surgeon General implements it.

"
Opinion: The Truly Ridiculous Reason the U.S. Has No Surgeon General"

This last fact is important today because of the inexcusable circumstances that led to the United States having no surgeon general in place to calm the recent national hysteria about Ebola. In a move that may well be unprecedented, Senate Republicans and assorted Democratic lickspittles have blocked President Barack Obama’s selection for surgeon general—no, not a judgeship or a Cabinet position or an appointment that involves actual governmental power—because the nominee, Dr. Vivek Murthy, made a statement mildly critical of guns."

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/11/07/opinion-warning-tweeting-about-guns-can-keep-you-out-public-service-280804.html