Spitting in public is a huge menace in India and it largely goes unopposed. Most of the ones who do not spit find themselves helpless and choose to ignore these acts. Public properties, wall corners, roads, bus stops, railway stations and tracks are all paan-stained always.

The implications of spitting are manifold with some important ones being:

a) Damage to public property: Spitting damages public property and makes things repulsive. The red & orange stains raise disgust. Tourist locations can suffer massive impact should there be damages due to these stains.

b)  Health impact: Saliva from spit can contain harmful pathogen which can transmit diseases like tuberculosis and COVID-19. It increases the risk of contamination if there is direct contact with the sputum. Apart from the general public, the cleaning staff of the municipal authorities are at a great risk in cleaning the streets. Please spare a thought for them.

c)  Financial burden: It is estimated that the Indian Railways spends around Rs 1,200 crore and a lot of water annually to clean the stains and marks caused by spitting on its premises, especially by pan and tobacco users

There are various rules and legislations against spitting at national, state and other levels, however enforcement of the same is a challenge as proving it and assigning authority to charge penalty can be questionable. To address this issue, it is proposed that spitting while travelling be made an offence under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The most relevant question at this stage is “How can this be implemented”. Here is how:

India already has the infrastructure of e-challans for traffic offences. Anyone seen spitting, while on a vehicle in front of a traffic police can attract a penalty. The traffic police can take a picture (as is the current practice) and raise a challan under a separate category of “spitting while driving” on the owner of the vehicle irrespective of who the offender is.

Similarly, for places where there are CCTV cameras installed, while speed can be detected, spitting cannot be. E-Challans for spitting can be raised through centralized monitoring of such instances captured on camera.

Following this practice can ensure fairness, and can put a fear in mind of the vehicle owners which can help avoid instances of spitting by themselves or occupants of their vehicles.

Spitting in public is a huge problem and goes largely unnoticed. Strict regulations which can be enforced is one of the ways to curb the menace to certain extent. There are disposable spittoons available in the market in case one wants to spit for medical reasons, these can be used.

Please support the movement to make Spitting while travelling to be an offence under Motor Vehicles Act.