Ministry of Health says: - coughs and sneezes spread diseases... Accession Number: ARTV01955

Description

'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases' was an Second World War campaign aimed at stopping the spread of diseases and other ailments, such as the common cold. This poster was one of a series produced to achieve this aim. Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand all had similar campaigns using the same phraseology. The slogan 'coughs and sneezes spread diseases' originates from the United States around 1918 during the peak of the Spanish flu. The phrase has been used periodically since the Second World War by different health organisations including the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), including the more recent 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu and the 2020 COVID-19 Corona Virus pandemics.
This British war poster depicts a man sneezing over horrified railway passengers.

Details

Accession Number
ARTV01955
Classification
Art
Object Type
Poster
Physical Description
Medium: lithograph on paper
Measurement
Overall: 75.6 cm x 50.6 cm
Medium
lithograph on paper
Date Made
1939-1945
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Copyright
Copyright expired - public domain

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'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases' was an Australian Second World War campaign aimed at stopping the spread of diseases and other ailments, such as the common cold. This poster was one of a series p

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Last modified: 23 September 2025 - 11.28 pm