Death of Dr. Tabaré Vázquez, former Uruguayan president and fervent defender of public health

Former Uruguayan President Tabaré Vazquez a strong advocate for public health[1] and who had stood up to tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris in an illustrious and emblematic legal proceeding, died in Montevideo. He was 80 years old.

Tabaré Vazquez, an oncologist by training, led the country between 2005 and 2010, and again between 2015 and 2020. He set an example for Latin America and the world by courageously standing up to the tobacco industry and taking bold and unprecedented steps to reduce the health burden of tobacco.

Uruguay has thus become a world leader in reducing smoking.[2] and a model for its implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In 2006, Uruguay became the first country in the Americas to ban smoking in public places and indoor workplaces. The country also implemented graphic health warnings covering 80 percent of the surface of the tobacco pack and banned misleading terms such as “light” and “low tar.” Tobacco advertising was banned and a tax policy of significant increases was implemented. Finally, Uruguay became the first country in Latin America to commit to plain packaging for tobacco products following the signing of the law by the President on December 21, 2018.[3].

Following the adoption in 2010 of legislation on the packaging and labelling of products by Uruguay, Philip Morris had filed a complaint against that country before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank, alleging that the country's legislation violated a 1988 investment protection agreement between Switzerland (current basis of PMI) and Uruguay. In July 2016, an arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of Uruguay protecting the health of its population through measures consistent with the WHO Framework Convention to reduce tobacco consumption.

This victory by a small country, supported internationally by other parties to the WHO Treaty, highlighted the ability of countries to resist pressure and actions by tobacco companies to prevent the implementation of effective measures in tobacco control.

In 2017, during his second presidency, Vázquez hosted the WHO Global Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), which culminated in a global commitment to reduce suffering and death from these diseases. These diseases account for the majority of deaths worldwide. In 2018, Tabare Vázquez was recognized as a “Public Health Hero of the Americas” by the Pan American Health Organization.

Keywords: Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, Public health