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• In Uruguay, the President Also Reads Mammograms  

Only rarely do Dr. Vázquez’s two worlds converge. He found time on a state visit to Italy last year to address a congress of oncologists. And in March, as the result of a presidential decree, Uruguay became the first country in the Americas to prohibit smoking in all indoor public spaces.

“The point is to diminish the number of deaths from cancer” and reduce demands on the health system, he said. “By 2020 more people will be dying from cancer in underdeveloped countries than the developed world, unless we start with intelligent policies on tobacco, chemical products and the like.”

Though initially criticized by restaurants, bars and casinos, the measure has been grudgingly accepted by Uruguayans. But that has not prevented a small joke from circulating here: “Thank goodness Tabaré is an oncologist and not a sexologist.”

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