The pamphlet had a profound effect on the country’s awareness of the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic and the risks of infection. It remains one of the most influential public health publications ever distributed by the U.S. government. It was both highly effective and controversial. This latter fact was illustrated by a syndicated cartoon that appeared in a number of newspapers showing a working mother leaving her home and telling her children as she walks out the door, “If anything comes in the mail from the Surgeon General, don’t open it!”
