Doctors Ought to Care

Doctors Ought to Care, or DOC is a group of physicians, health care workers, teachers and others who work on diseases caused by advertising, particularly tobacco. The DOC archive is probably the single largest collection of tobacco advertising, paraphernalia, and documents in the world. DOC specializes in counter-advertising and education. DOC was founded by Alan Mayer Blum, M.D. "in an effort to unite medical students and physicians in tackling the tobacco pandemic and other lethal lifestyles in the clinic, classroom, and community."

The organization focuses on school-based and community public health promotion.

There is a branch of DOC in the University of Wisonsin Department of Family Medicine, located in Madison, Wisconsin, that goes by the name of Mad-Doc.

Tobacco control activity
DOC pioneered the use of humorous ads to undermine tobacco advertising. When a cigarette company put up billboards in Houston, Texas advertising Dakota cigarettes, DOC produced an ad that read, "Dakota, DaCough, DaCancer, DaCoffin." When the Virginia Slims Tennis tournament was increasing in popularity, DOC physicians made public appearances calling the tournament "Emphysema Slims." When Philip Morris promoted it's "Marlboro Adventure Team" to make smoking look cool, DOC physicians traveled around the country in a red and white "Barfboro" van, telling people the truth about the health hazards caused by tobacco.

Contact
Doctors Ought to Care 5510 Greenbriar, Suite 235 Houston, TX 77005 Telephone: Eric Solberg, (713) 798-7729