WHY has spitting become a way of life in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea? It has become difficult to tell someone it is wrong to spit in public? And even worse, people sitting in moving vehicles have been known to spit out of the windows onto pedestrians.

A colleague has slapped someone for spitting on him by accident, but many, especially women have walked off, feeling disgusted because they had been spat on.

Some people say spitting has become worse than graffiti in Port Moresby and it is spreading to other urban centres around the country. But unlike graffiti, spitting is repulsive and disgusting to many. Furthermore, it is dangerous as it is proven to transmit diseases from one person to another.

In Port Moresby, the streets, footpaths, drainages, front of buildings and even street light posts are often sprayed with spittles, mostly of betelnut, done by both literate and illiterate population. But if it is not betelnut spittle, it is a spit of some kind because many people do not think it is wrong to spit in public.

As one enters some shops, the side walls are painted with betelnut stains and even front of the shops in certain parts of the city are sprayed with betelnut one has to jump over them to enter the building. Last week, as I stood in a queue in a shop, a man standing in front of me spat onto the floor, right in front of me and almost onto the soft drink machine . “Is this wrong”, one would ask. Perhaps, it depends on where one comes from.

In Milne Bay, spitting is not a norm, although betelnut has always been apart of the culture of the people of this province. The villages are also clean of betelnut spittles and yet the people there are among the great chewers of betelnut.

But how you do teach children that it is wrong to spit in public in Port Moresby where spitting is a way of life everywhere. Unless something drastic happens to either betelnut or authorities take a strong stand over spitting, the battle over spitting in Port Moresby will not be won. It is now a norm to spit anywhere and everywhere.

Those companies that have policies on betelnut will have to implement them because not all staff see anything wrong with chewing in offices and spitting in the bins until they have tried to put their hands in to try and rummage for a lost stationery item such as a biro.

Spitting in public places in many places around the world is unheard of and against public health policies. In some of the world’s cities, this is a crime. For instance, in 2003, in Chicago a man received a life sentence for spitting on another man. The law was repealed later on, but legislations against spitting in some countries, although may not have been completely successful, have helped educated people to know that spitting in public was dangerous to public health.

In Singapore, it is a crime to spit and a perpetrator can be caned or fined. Singapore, currently is rated in the World Bank’s annual business reviews, as the best place to do business in. Its strict laws maintain order as well as a healthy environment to do business. The strict anti-littering laws have ensured its public places, including toilets are clean, travellers the world over do not hesitate to go there.

In an endeavour to develop tourism industry in this country, policy makers often forget that good healthy practices make a difference to luring foreigners as well. For instance, foreigners coming into the country are advised by their embassies on issues of security which includes health.

I remember going to African and Asian countries and being advised by the organisers of the trip to avoid buying cooked food and water along the street markets because of cholera which at that time was an unknown disease in Papua New Guinea.

Imagine tourists to Papua New Guinea being informed that crime rate in certain parts of the country is high or that cholera and tuberculosis are prevalent, they have to safe-guard their health by avoiding certain places. This is lost income for simple villagers or street sellers who might have sold their artefacts to the tourists.

Boroko is a centre for business activities, but it has in the recent years become a dirty place. The front of shops are scenes of betelnut sellers except Brian Bell Plaza which has remained clean because of the consistency of its security guards to keep away sellers. Telikom PNG office in Boroko is looking clean now, but it had been a battle to get users of the telephone booth area clean. This had been for sometime dirty, especially with betelnut stains and spittles everywhere. Now, they need to have security guards to keep people away or ensure that they are not throwing their rubbish as they wish or spitting onto the walls, footpaths and around the office as they did for sometime.

Residents of the city, but particularly the expatriate community avoid going to certain parts of the city, including Boroko shopping centre which was in 1970s and 1980s a favourite shopping place for people of all backgrounds, regardless of race or status in society.

But unless city authorities do something to change the trend, Boroko will go in the same direction as the Gordons shopping area and market which were popular to all sorts of people in 1970s and 1980s.

Today, this place has become crowded, dirty and has become a common place for crimes of all sorts, including pickpockets many people do not wish to go there even though the vegetables being sold at the market there are cheaper compared to other markets in the city. In Waigani, spittles of betelnut are obvious in front of the TST supermarket and almost all the shops in that part of the city. People have accepted spittles and rubbish lying around on the footpaths and front of the shops as a way of life and will walk on them as they enter the shop.

Spittles of betelnuts are a common sight in front of most of the shops at China town in East Boroko. Vendors selling beside the shop sit beside heaps of rubbish, sprayed with betelnuts oblivious to the flies and spittles around them. All around people standing around spit as they please. It is a way of life security guards have time and again tried in vain to push them away.

The question is: Will Port Moresby ever get rid of the spitting habit. If Port Moresby was a spit free city in 1970s and 1980s, it is possible, but it needs authorities to take a stand and be consistent with what needs to be done for the sake of the health of the majority of the people of Papua New Guinea.

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