Reports and Publications
Reports and publications from the Surgeon General are widely respected for their evidence-based approach to our nation’s most urgent public health issues. These influential documents bring together the expertise of scientific, medical, and public health professionals nationwide on a wide variety of topics, from the opioid and e-cigarette crises to disease prevention, breastfeeding, and oral health.
Surgeon General reports are comprehensive scientific review documents prepared by experts on behalf of the Surgeon General. They are often landmark publications that identify and shape the science and culture of our public health. Calls to action are science-based summary documents intended to stimulate action on urgent public health problems. Surgeon General’s advisories are public statements of recommendations on public health issues.
As part of its Profiles in Science project, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) has digitized and made available numerous documents of the Surgeon General published prior to 2000. The collection includes reports, proceedings, background papers, photographs, and other ephemera of historical interest. In addition, selected documents from 2001 to the present are available as full text in NLM's Health Services Technology Assessment Texts system.
Reports of the Surgeon General on the adverse health consequences of smoking triggered nationwide efforts to prevent tobacco use. Reports and other publications on HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance use disorders, nutrition, and violence—to name but a few—have heightened America's awareness and focused action on critical public health issues, and continue to generate major public health initiatives.