As there was a heavy traffic jam in the road, I got down from a packed bus and hurried to catch another bus from another bus-stop. Then, I came to know the cause for the jam — one guy from a window of a bus had spat over another riding a motorbike.

This incident reminded me of my recent interaction with a friend of mine who had spitting habit in public places and had been to Singapore for a year. I remember how I jokingly asked him about his habit of spitting and he in response said with laughter: “There (Singapore) the law is so strict that it changed my habit. After all, spitting and littering in public places is an offence and carries a fine of SGD $200.”

This was surprising news to me. I then checked about the provisions in other countries and found out almost similar rules. I found that it is illegal to spit on the street in Spain (fine up to €750) and in Korea (US $30). In some places of the United States, spitting in public places is considered illegal. For example, it is not allowed to spit in the wind in Nebraska. Massachusetts has a rule of charging US $20; in Terre Haute, Indiana, it is illegal to spit on sidewalk. I came to know that the rules in those places are strictly enforced and followed.

Back in Nepal, spitting in public places is not a problem at all. Many Nepali's do not even realize that it is morally wrong thing to do.  Maybe it is so because, Nepali's are already habituated to big bulks of garbage on street, cloud of smoke in city due to dilapidated roads, always buzzing sound coming from honking of horns. Who thinks of spitting in road as a problem when there are already hordes of problems?

Many may laugh at my argument. But again, I am of the opinion that spitting in public places citing other big problems is not a wise thing to do. It should still be considered a problem as spit or saliva is one of the main sources of disease spread, besides it being a source of pollution that hampers the cleanliness of a surrounding. It may not be a big and noticeable problem in the beginning, but it will certainly become a major cause for numerous problems later.

There are people who think that spitting in public places is not a good thing to do but simply ignore it. They think that they alone can do nothing to stop this problem in the absence of rules against it. They may even fear that people will laugh at their ideas in the face of several other problems existing in society.

In order to improve the condition, there are a few things that need to be done. First, the people themselves should be made aware about the repercussions of their acts/behaviours. Second, there should be rules against such anti-environment behaviours. Many countries have successfully maintained cleanliness of their places with implementation of strict rules. Why can’t we?