Luther Terry

Luther Leonidas Terry(September 15, 1911 – March 29, 1985) was an American physician and public health official. He was appointed the ninthSurgeon General of the United Statesfrom 1961 to 1965, and is best known for his warnings against the dangers and the impact oftobaccouse on health.

Luther Terry
9thSurgeon General of the United States
In office March 2, 1961 – October 1, 1965
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Leroy Edgar Burney
Succeeded by	William H. Stewart
Personal details
Born	(1911-09-15)September 15, 1911 Red Level, Alabama,U.S.
Died	March 29, 1985(1985-03-29)(aged 73) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S.
Spouse	Beryl Janet Reynolds ​ ​ (m.1940)​
Children	3
Education	Birmingham-Southern College(B.S.) Tulane University(M.D.)

Early years

Luther Terry was born inRed Level, Alabamato James Edward Terry, M.D., and Lula Mariah (Durham) Terry. His father was a graduate of theUniversity of Alabama School of Medicine,and was the "town doctor" for Red Level. Many of Luther Terry's earliest memories were of helping his father in the pharmacy and clinical offices in Red Level, and driving his father in the family's Ford Model A to emergency appointments out in the county.

Luther Terry earned aB.S.degree atBirmingham-Southern Collegein 1931, where he was initiated into thePi Kappa Alphafraternity. He then received anM.D.degree atTulane Universityin 1935. After interning at the Hillman Hospital inBirmingham, Alabama,and serving a residency in Cleveland Hospitals, Terry moved toWashington University in St. Louisin 1938 for aninternshipinpathology.The following year, he became an instructor at that institution. He subsequently served as instructor and assistant professor ofpreventive medicineandpublic healthat theUniversity of Texas at Galvestonfrom 1940 to 1942.

Career

In 1942, Terry joined the staff of the Public Health Service Hospital in Baltimore, becoming Chief of Medical Services there the following year. His interest incardiovascularresearch led him to accept the position of Chief of General Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics at the National Heart Institute inBethesdain 1950, at first on a part-time basis while continuing his work at the Baltimore hospital. When theNational Institutes of Health's Clinical Center opened in 1953, Terry's Heart Institute program was moved to the new facility and he devoted his full-time to the job. He also served as the first Chairman of the Medical Board of the Clinical Center (1953–1955) and was concurrently instructor and then assistant professor at theJohns Hopkins UniversitySchool of Medicine from 1944 to 1961. Terry and his team laid the foundations for what has been called "the golden era of cardiovascular clinical investigation".

Surgeon General

In 1958, Terry became the Assistant Director of theNational Heart Institute.He came to public prominence when PresidentJohn F. Kennedyselected him as Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, effective March 2, 1961.

Although there had always been an awareness of the negative health effects of smoking, it was not until the 1950s that evidence began to be published suggesting thatcigarette smokingcaused lung cancer and other diseases. At the end of the decade, theRoyal College of Physiciansin the United Kingdom appointed a committee to investigate the relationship between smoking and health. The committee's report, issued on March 7, 1962, clearly indicated cigarette smoking as a cause of lung cancer andbronchitisand argued that it probably contributed tocardiovascular diseaseas well.

Cover page of the report on smoking and health

Shortly after the release of this report, Terry established the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health, which he chaired, to produce a similar report for the United States.Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service,released on January 11, 1964, concluded that lung cancer andchronic bronchitisare causally related to cigarette smoking. The report also noted out that there was suggestive evidence, if not definite proof, for acausativerole of smoking in other illnesses such asemphysema,cardiovascular disease, and various types of cancer. The committee concluded that cigarette smoking was a health hazard of sufficient importance to warrant appropriate remedial action.

In June 1964, theFederal Trade Commissionvoted by a margin of 3–1 to require that cigarette manufacturers "clearly and prominently" place a warning on packages of cigarettes effective January 1, 1965, stating that smoking was dangerous to health, in line with the warning issued by the Surgeon General's special committee. The same warning would be required in all cigarette advertising effective July 1, 1965.

The landmark Surgeon General's report on smoking and health stimulated a greatly increased concern about tobacco on the part of the American public and government policymakers and led to a broad-based anti-smoking campaign. It also motivated thetobacco industryto intensify its efforts to question the scientific evidence linking smoking and disease. The report was also responsible for the passage of theCigarette Labeling and Advertising Actof 1965, which, among other things, mandated Surgeon General's health warnings on cigarette packages.

Cigarette smoking of nicotine was defined as not anaddictionin the Surgeon General's first report on smoking (published by a committee of doctors who were largely smokers themselves).

Later years

Terry himself continued to play a leading role in the campaign against smoking after leaving the post of surgeon general, which he occupied through October 1, 1965. He chaired the National Interagency Council on Smoking and Health, a coalition of government agencies and nongovernment organizations, from 1967 to 1969, and served as a consultant to groups such as theAmerican Cancer Society.He helped to obtain a ban on cigaretteadvertisementson radio and television in 1971. Late in his life he led the effort to eliminate smoking from the workplace.

When Terry retired from government service in 1965, he became vice president for medical affairs, as well as professor of medicine and community medicine, at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.Terry was responsible for managing the university's health sciences schools, comprising some 40 percent of the university's budget, until he gave up the position of vice president in 1971. He retained his professorial appointment until 1975, when he becameadjunct professor,and then in 1981emeritus professor.From 1970 to 1983, he also served as president ofUniversity Associates,anonprofit consulting firmbased in Washington, D.C.

Terry's last years were spent as corporate vice president for medical affairs forARA Servicesof Philadelphia (1980–1983) and then as a consultant. He died atPennsylvania Hospitalon March 29, 1985, aged 73, after a heart attack.

A collection of his papers are held at theNational Library of Medicinein Bethesda, Maryland.

References

• Office of Public Health and Science (January 4, 2007)."Office of the Surgeon General: Luther Leonidas Terry (1961–1965)".U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 17,2008.

External links

• Arlington National Cemetery