C. Everett Koop

“Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well.”

“Drugs don't work in patients who don't take them.”

“Hospice is a place for living, not a place for dying.”

“The cigarette is the single most important preventable cause of death in our society.”

“My responsibility is to the health of the American people.”

“There's no doubt that the single biggest thing that has improved our health is sanitation.”

“This is a health problem, and it has to be handled as a health problem.”

“We are fighting a disease, not people.”

“The role of the Surgeon General is to be the nation's doctor, not the nation's chaplain.”

“When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts. When you have the law on your side, argue the law. When you have neither, holler.”

“AIDS is an infectious disease. It is not a moral issue.”

“It is the responsibility of the physician to be a teacher.”