. >> dr. koop really was a surgeon. in fact, he established the country's first neonatal icu in philadelphia. but he carved out his place in history back in 1986 when he sent this pamphlet on aids to all 107 million u.s. households. some of the issues involved in this brochure you may not be used to discussing openly, he wrote. but now you must discuss them. the reagan administration had been accused of being slow to recognize the epidemic, but when he joined the fight, dr. koop pulled no punches. >> just by his bully pulpit approach to two of the great killers in this world, tobacco and hiv, i believe he's responsible for saving many, many, many lives. >> you can't ask more of a doctor than that. dr. koop was the first surgeon general to officially warn about the dangers of passive smoking. he was a vigorous opponent of big tobacco, as you probably know. and there's something i always like to tell people who want to quit smoking. you don't have to wait years to see the benefits. take a look. just 20 minutes after your

dr. koopointed surgeon general by president ronald reagan and i think much to everyone's surprise once he was in that position he used that position to wage a war on smoking. he did a lot of other good besides. but at a time when the public was still arguing about whether smoking really was even all that bad for you, whether it was even worth warning people that smoking might be an unhealthful thing, c. everett koop, surgeon general, oftentimes in his full dress uniform, c. everett koop was unassailable. he was blunt as all get out, totally unequivocal in saying conclusively, yeah, smoking is bad for you. from his "new york times" obituary, "dr. koop said he had begun campaigning against smoking after studying the research into its link to cancer, heart disease, stroke and other diseases. he was dumfounded, he said, and then plainly furious at the tobacco industry for attempting to obfuscate and trivialize this extraordinarily important public information." surgeon general c. everett koop chan

dr. koop was 96 years old. >>> that's our program for now. i'm bob abernethy. you can follow us on twitter and facebook and watch us anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. there's much more on our webte. you can comment on all of our stories and share them. audio and video podcasts are also available. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, scenes from the vatican of benedict xvi, now pope emeritus, during his final days as the successor to saint peter. >>> major funding is provided by the lilly endowment dedicated to its founders interest in community education. additional funding provided by mutual of america designing custized, indivual d group retirement

koop. he died this week at the age of 86. the beard, bowtie, signature style was the same, whether denouncing tobacco or pitching life alert without leaving office. dr. everett koop really was a surgeon. in fact, he established the country's first neo-natal icu in philadelphia. but he carved out his place in history back in 1986 when he sent this pamplet on aids to all 107 million households. some of the issues involved in this brochure you may not be used to discussing openly, he wrote. but now you must discuss them. the reagan administration had been accused of being slow to recognize the epidemic. when he joined the fight he pulled no punches. >> his bully approach to great killers in this world, tobacco and hiv, i believe he's responsible for saving many, many lives. >> you can't ask more of a doctor than that. dr. koop was the first surgeon general to officially warn about the dangers of passive smoking. he was a vigorous opponent of big tobacco as you probably know. something i always like to tell people who want to quit smoking. you don't have to wait years to see the benefits. take a look. just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your hear

dr. koop's lesson home in a painful way. medical researchers have discovered the important linkage between plaque and heart stees, that chewing stimulates brain cell growth and that gum disease can signal diabetes, liver ailments or hormonal imbalances. they have also discovered that oral disease is far more prevalent than you might imagine. in fact, dental deday is the most common chronic childhood disease in the united states. dental disease affects one in five children ages 2-4 and more than half of all children have dental disease by the time they reach the second grade. by the age of 17, approximately 80% of young people have had a dental cavity. children living in poverty are twice as likely to suffer tooth decay as middle and upper income children, and nearly 40% of black children have untreated tooth decay in their permanent teeth. this has serious implications in their overall health. these problems carry over to adulthood. improper oral hygiene can increase an adult's risk of having low birthweight babies, developi