JEDDAH: The Faculty of Dentistry at King Abdulaziz University Hospital has launched an awareness campaign on spitting in the streets, labeling it as unethical and unhealthy. The campaign, launched under the banner “Don't spit in the streets” coincided with the opening of the three-day Gulf Environmental Forum on Sunday. “Spitting in the streets and on sidewalks is a general problem related to our environment. The habit can transfer a lot of diseases through the air such as Hepatitis and TB. So we are providing awareness to the public about this bad habit and some related issues,” said Amar Zaheer, one of the organizers. People spit with impunity in the streets, he said. “As it's not good for public health we want the municipality to fine people who do so. The fine could be imposed in line with the penalty of SR150 for throwing garbage on the roads,” Zaheer added. The campaign is to help the authorities protect and clean up the environment. “We chose to stand over here at the environmental exhibition, so we can reach all the people who visit the forum, and can spread as much awareness as we can to protect people from health hazards related to spitting. Many of them don't know or don't realize (what they're doing),” Zaheer added.
