Three things suggest to me that the story, though popular and in wide circulation, may be apocryphal.

The book achieved wide circulation, not least because he pulled no punches in examining his profession.

However, at a cost of 55.20 per patient per month, or 1.97 per tablet, it was not yet in wide circulation.

They found wide circulation and were already present in early collections.

It was a magazine of wide circulation in the south.