Sunday, April 10, 2011

London borough in bid to bring back ban on spitting to stop the spread of tuberculosis

Council chiefs are hoping Enfield could become the first borough in the country to outlaw spitting in a bid to fight the growing problem of tuberculosis. Chris Bond Enfield Council’s cabinet member for the environment, has written to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke for clearance to introduce a new bylaw – enforceable in local areas – to have spitting banned in parks and public places.

In 2009 there were 41 reported cases of TB for every 100,000 people in Enfield – a 21 per cent increase on the number in 2004. The London average was 44. Spitting in public used to carry a £5 fine but since 1990 there has been no law against it.



Although a Ministry Of Justice list says spitting is not suitable for a bylaw, Mr Bond is hoping public support for the ban would convince the Justice Secretary to change his mind. He said that litter wardens could enforce the ban, issuing on-the-spot fines to those who flout the law. “Spitting in public is not only disgusting and anti-social it is a health hazard. Introducing a bylaw would need the approval of the Secretary Of State,” said Mr Bond.

“It would be great if Mr Clarke would allow us the flexibility to introduce a new bylaw to improve the quality of life for our residents and the borough’s health. Banning spitting would help combat TB which has been on the increase in London. Enforcing this would be quite easy for us as we already have litter wardens in Enfield who help keep the borough clean.”

3 comments:

L said...

I've never understood why guys spit (and before you call me sexist, I'll just say that I've only ever observed males spitting around here; maybe it's different in London).

Did these people never learn to swallow?

Insolitus said...

During my teen years in school, I often wondered about the tough, cool kids who spent their recesses smoking and spitting behind the gym building. Did they constantly spit because of the cigarette smoke or was it purely a social thing? Group pressure and acting cool and not giving a damn and all that? And yes, there wasn't a significant gender difference.

Over here studies have shown that teenage girls and young women are much less ladylike than their predecessors just ten or twenty years ago. They drink more, smoke more, are louder and more violent and spit and curse like boys used to. The trend for young men goes the opposite way. The strange and sometimes unfortunate consequences of gender equality.

L said...

Our girls are less ladylike... but I don't think we've seen the boys go the opposite way here yet. We've got young people of both genders acting boorish.

You're in... Finland? I don't think the gender equality thing has really taken off in North America the way it has in the Nordic countries.