Monday, December 08, 2014

Spitting is injurious to health

"Earth is considered to be round but people still find corners to spit" - This was one of my Facebook status but it faded away as any other status message. It has become quite essential for us to be reminded of our responsibilities as a citizen.

There are different warnings at places (malls, theaters) like smoking is prohibited or outside eatables are not allowed. Such notices are well followed in malls. Security checks are done at entry and percentage of people adhering to mall rules are increasing. But warnings like 'Do Not Spit' are rarely taken into account at public places. Since alarm clocks which are in our hand are mostly snoozed. 

Dr John Moore-Gillon, a TB expert from the London Chest Hospital, said: "Spitting, like smoking, is essentially a social habit which can affect the health of others. People spit for many reasons, not just because they need to, but because it makes a statement."

In India spitting is just an accepted way of clearing the throat and getting rid of excess saliva. Chewing tobacco and spitting spreads diseases like cancer, respiratory diseases, and heart diseases. Other germs, like common cold and influenza, diseases are spread by saliva.

Although spitting in public places attracts fine of Rs 300, there is very minimal impact on people.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a national level campaign by the Government of India initiated by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was announced by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Indian Independence Day & launched on 2 Oct 2014, Gandhi Jayanti.

Best thing about clean India is less of diseases. More of tourist visit, rise in economy and reduction in inflation. It is a chain reaction which most of us might not be aware of.

We did our bit by spreading the message in Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon for three consecutive years. Some pictures to share


I along with my friend had initiated a small campaign to spread awareness about cleanliness during marathon. It might have a very small impact but spreading our message was our objective and we were happy to get good response from the people.



Various organization have come up with various campaign to promote clean India. This also includes celebrities who are doing their bit by requesting their fans to follow the same.

RB and NDTV have partnered to launch “Dettol – Banega Swachh India” – a 5 year ambitious program to address the rising need of hygiene and sanitation in India. Mr Amitabh Bachchan would be the brand Ambassador who has a connect with each Indian. Banega Swachh India is a commitment towards making India healthier & cleaner by 2019. And here is the website with all the details http://swachhindia.ndtv.com/. This is really a good initiative at a very large scale. Their presence is also in Facebook and Twitter.

Lets make this a success by contributing our bit by keeping our city clean and maintaining good hygiene.

Can we start building a nation with responsible citizen?