Are you that one person who needs to empty their spit valves every five seconds? Do you feel that spitting in India is a tradition that you are obliged to follow? And you prefer to give a “so-what?” look when caught in the act?
Well, hold your thoughts together because expelling the esophageal waters selfishly in public is not cool at all, rather it is offensive if not anything else!
You don’t have a take a tour of the country to understand how precarious is the situation, look around and you will find people recklessly spitting even on the anti-spitting slogan boards where it is clearly mentioned “thookna mana hain” or “Spitting is prohibited,” just for fun.
Forget roadside and stations, check out the lifts of the government hospitals, the red spat is something you cannot miss. Why red? The proof that Indians love “beetle leaves” or “paan”. Also, consider yourself lucky, if you still haven’t seen people nose-blowing in public.
But if public disposal of bodily fluids is not socially acceptable- be it urination or defection, how does one get away with it? Also, will it make any difference if health experts tell you that Tuberculosis and H1N1 are spread by the same means?
Anti-Spitting Law effective only on paper?
The Oxford dictionary meaning of “Spitting” is– to eject saliva forcibly from one’s mouth, sometimes as a gesture of contempt or anger.
A Government notification issued on September 2016 mentioned- No person shall cook, bathe, spit, urinate, defecate, feed animals/birds or allow their droppings/poop, wash utensils or any other object or keep any type of storage in any public place except in such public facilities or conveniences specifically provided for any of these purposes.
It also said that if found spitting in public, a fine of 250 rs will be imposed for causing insanitation- but to no avail.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB and H1N1 are among the top causes of deaths worldwide and the spit of a TB patient, if not disposed of properly, can affect 10-12 healthy people in a year. In 2017, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB, as per data from WHO, while according to the Centre for Disease Control, Atlanta report, H1N1, or swine flu, killed over five lakh people globally.
In 2017, there were 27.4 lakh TB cases in the country, and that’s why stern measures need to be taken against spitting in public places, said Dr. Tushar Sahasrabuddhe, head of the department of chest medicine at D Y Patil Medical College to the Indian Express.
Further, according to the TB India report 2018, the requirements for moving towards TB elimination have been integrated into the four strategic pillars of “Detect – Treat – Prevent – Build” (DTPB).
Being a quitter, you can win at times! While the habit of spitting is firmly planted among many, it is high time that we pledge not to create spit puddle around and prepare to give up this bad habit for once and all.