VCU news

By Carrie Carroll

Jesse Steinfeld, M.D., former United States surgeon general and dean of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, died Aug. 5 at age 87. He served as dean from 1976 to 1983.

Steinfeld was a cancer researcher and taught at the University of Southern California medical school before being selected by President Richard Nixon to serve as surgeon general from 1969 to 1973. He was the first surgeon general to ever be forced out of office by the president after repeatedly speaking out about the harmful effects of cigarette smoking.

His efforts to publicize these dangers led to changes in cigarette packaging labels during his tenure. Steinfeld’s label warned, “The surgeon general has determined that smoking is hazardous to your health.”

He released a report in 1971, citing studies showing that nicotine in cigarettes caused a decrease of oxygen to the heart, making it work harder and increasing the risk of heart attack. The next year, his report warned of the dangers of carbon monoxide to smokers, as well as to nonsmokers.

Steinfeld suggested the easiest way to deal with this problem was to ban smoking in public places such as restaurants, theaters, airplanes, buses and trains. This unpopular suggestion came decades before bans on public smoking were common.

“It’s a good lesson for everyone on how long it takes to change public opinion,” said Steinfeld’s daughter, Mary Beth Steinfeld, to the Associated Press. Mary Beth Steinfeld is also a graduate of the School of Medicine, Class of 1981.

Steinfeld became dean of the VCU School of Medicine in March of 1976, after his years as surgeon general. During his tenure, sponsored research and the number of residency training programs increased. He also urged a greater emphasis on preventative medicine, pointing out that “prevention is the only long-term solution to many of our most vexing health problems.” This is something we know to be true today, almost 40 years later.

In an interview with VCU Magazine, he was asked what he considered to be the nation’s No. 1 health problem. “I think the major health problem for Americans is their lifestyle,” he answered. “The killers today are heart disease and cancer. Seventy-five or a hundred years ago infectious diseases were the major causes of death.”

“Now, if we look at specific aspects of our lifestyle, we see that our problems are caused by cigarette smoking, which relates significantly to the epidemic of both lung cancer and cardiovascular disease; obesity, diet and lack of exercise, which contribute primarily to cardiovascular disease; and the use of recreational drugs, such as alcohol, and other drug abuse, which contribute to the high rate of suicides, homicides, automobile accidents and so on,” Steinfeld concluded.

Steinfeld was well-liked and viewed by most at VCU as a good administrator. Sheldon Retchin, M.D., senior vice president for health sciences and CEO of VCU Health System, remembers Steinfeld well. Retchin arrived at the School of Medicine in June of 1976 as a newly minted doctor shortly after Steinfeld.

Retchin recalls his first meeting with Steinfeld, along with 130 other interns, in a classroom in Sanger Hall. “He appeared briefly in front of the classroom and spoke about the preeminence of the medical school. He never mentioned his remarkable stint as the surgeon general that preceded his deanship,” said Retchin. “That was odd to us because we all knew of his historical proclamations over smoking, particularly his recognition of the harmfulness of secondhand smoke.”

“Instead, he stated that he did not want house officers walking around the campus in scrubs. I remember that especially because I was the only one in the room who was wearing scrubs. I recall wishing that I had sat in the back row instead of toward the front of the room, where I caught his glare.”

“During his seven years as dean he brought enormous recognition to the School of Medicine, which was already a prominent medical school for its research and clinical care. We were so fortunate to have him as our leader at that time.”

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