I am by no means opposed to health campaigns. On the contrary, I feel that they and the voluntary or governmental agencies sponsoring them do wonderful work. They alert and educate the public. They raise money to carry out vital research and to assist the victims of various diseases. They deserve great credit for helping to eliminate or control many illnesses that once took a toll of disability and death.

It is impossible even to estimate the number of lives that have been saved and the amount of suffering that has been prevented by the efforts of national health campaigns. The endless, tireless—and unpublicized— work of our local public health departments protects us against typhoid fever, dysentery, undulant fever, and other milk-, water-, and food-borne diseases. Public health agencies have all but eliminated malaria, smallpox, and yellow fever.

Not so very long ago, a man who was even suspected of having leprosy might be stoned to death, and people who had touched him were apt to consider suicide. We know now that the danger of catching leprosy by touching a leper is, practically speaking, non-existent.

Having eliminated the ignorance responsible for such panics, must we now pay for our knowledge by becoming a nation of chronic hypochondriacs?

My answer is No. We can have the tremendous advantages that come with enlightenment and at the same time avoid the danger of being frightened into becoming hypochondriacs by (1) continuous health education; (2) routine periodic medical examinations; and (3) a sensible attitude towards the calculated risk in health

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