Spitting a disgusting habit.

About time something was done to stop this disgusting habit.

You can say that again.

I totally agree, someone did it in front of me today on Yorkshire Street. I was nearly sick !

It is a disgusting filthy habit  

It's entirely up to the people of Rochdale and their council whether they want everyone to have the freedom to spit in the streets, or to prohibit it with a fine, as some other local authorities do.

http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=41851&headline=Spitting%20ban%20in%20operation

I hate it but, I see it on a daily basis.

Living in a predominantly Asian area, it seems to be treated as 'the norm' within that society, a grotesque deep clearing of the throat and then the spit .... even the women do it !

Should we be surprised that TB has made a comeback?  I think not!

An elderly white bloke just missed me once on Tod Rd as I passed him when going to my car. Disgusting habit. I think decent members of society should be given tasers and be allowed to use them at will when faced with such antisocial behaviour.

It does only spread TB if the person has TB though!

Spitting in the streets is similar to littering and dog poo. Attitudes and habits can be changed with byelaws and fines. The choice is up to public opinion, some may wish to have the freedom to dump rubbish, and allow their dogs to foul the pavement and to spit, others prefer to have these activities curtailed.

If a fair majority of the inhabitants of Rochdale, or even a sizeable minority with a good case well presented, want a ban on spitting in the streets, a byelaw can be put in place to that effect. If the majority want to spit freely, and see it as a 'right', such a byelaw may not have the support.

Maybe ROL would be good enough to launch a campaign on our behalf?

Maybe, but more of a job for a group of councillors perhaps. First thing is to establish how much public support a spitting ban would have.

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/12/10/poll-should-people-caught-spitting-in-public-be-prosecuted/

I would certainly support a ban and would help to push for one.


Utterly disgusting and offensive.

Not helped by the number of footballers who spit either, many youngsters follow suit believing that it is 'cool' to emulate them.

I would love to see it banned.

Laws are often at least difficult to enforce, but play an important role in changing behaviors. Seat belts, drunk driving,picking up after your dog, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, all these were changed with the help of legislation.

Not spitting in front of people is about respect for others. It's bad enough for the ordinary person, but when police, paramedics, nurses etc are spat at in the course of their work, and it does happen, if malicious spitting was generally understood to be unacceptable, this would give another layer of legal and social protection.

A considerable percentage of the population think spitting is a harmless and normal habit. Some otherwise quite decent people have the habit of spitting. Re-education is needed.

Tazering offenders is tempting, but that must be down to the individual citizen to arrange, and cannot be recommended as legislation.

Probably the most convincing argument to put forward to a local council is the revenue to be accrued from spitting fines.

Who would like to live in a no-spitting allowed town?

In the past in the UK, public spitting was considered a health risk and generally unpleasant, and such attempts were made to 'contain' the problem.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/spitting-on-the-street-spreads-disease-6300837.html

Is it co-incidental that countries where public spitting is normal also have high rates of T.B.?

They must be used to living where there are no modern toilet facilities available to them, and that is the case for many people around the world.

We cannot solve the problems of all the world, but the people of Rochdale should be able to solve the problems of where they live.

Spitting not only has health implications, as a social behavior it is sometimes used in a way to be offensive and aggressive, to express contempt.

There is a general move of opinion and legislation for spitting in the streets to be banned, Rochdale would do better to take a lead in this, if it wants to, rather than lag behind.

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/national/news/10697205.Council_prosecutes_men_for_spitting/

Whether 'Rochdale' has the moral authority to take a stand or lead the way on social issues is a relevant question.

The authorities have shown a desperately worrying lack of morals, or lack of competence, or both; but that does not alter the fact that the people of Rochdale deserve better.

Somehow the social fabric of the town will have to be repaired, and the devil is often in the detail.

We could wait until the grooming, drug trade and criminal violence is more under control before considering the enforcement of things like a no spitting zone, but, that might be a long wait. It may be better to press ahead and prioritise what is 'do-able' to make the town a place where decent people can live. Otherwise, over time, population 'churn' will mean the decent people will leave and the situation will deteriorate.

As I understand it most public houses in heavy industrialised towns and cities had 'spittoons' for the use of.
Especially those with heavy mining. It was of course due to the working condition that necessitated expiration at regular intervals for those most badly affected. Given that such 'working conditions' rarely exist any more in this country, such receptacles are no longer needed. Spitting in the street used to be a public order offence when I was a lad and in truth one rarely saw such incidents. With the advent of the 'laddie' culture and the trash meted out on many sports pitches, I suppose one must say it can only be imitation which grows into a habit. A bit like smoking one could say. Sad isn't it?