Spitting, smoking in public places a real bother
Mudasir Ali
Smoking and spitting in public places are the two immoral acts among us that reflect our moral degradation. It goes against our community standards when we are deprived of moral principles. The underlying moral principles of our society don’t permit us to do any kind of offence while staying in public places.
Public places are not for spitting out at large. It is a place where all public sectors perform different activities in order to cater services to the people. In public places we come across to see different service agents like as; Food stores, Transport, Hospitals, Medical shops, Revenue departments and Educational institutions as well wherein we have daily routines.
Does it mean? I shall spit at the shopkeeper’s shop while purchasing items. What he will think about me if I will do it before him. In fact, he will consider me a demoralized and unethical person who has lack of decency. We need to understand it that a shopkeeper usually wakes up early morning for cleaning his shop to earn his livelihood.
The community norms are applied to each class in our society whether it is elite class or working class. Every individual of a society has a right to live with dignity and respect. He should take care of community standards and do not try to breach them. Morals are the imbibed principles through which one can be recognized as good member of society. It is morals which reshape our character and develop the overall behavior of a man. One is not identified by his wealth and land but he is to be identified by the moral principles he has attained.
A normal man’s character is hundred times better than a man who has an abundant wealth and bank balance. Social norms do never show a positive inclination towards elite class rather it has its own parameters to measure the worth of all individuals in a community belonging to any class.
Before long back many teachers were caught smoking during class time. It was a time when we ignored these nasty and nuisance acts in the institutions. Similarly a doctor can’t light up a cigarette before his patients while on duty nor can a teacher do the same in the classroom. Those who are entrusted with responsibilities to carry out certain tasks they are bound to them.
So it is their moral responsibility that they should restrain themselves from such offences in their respected institutions. The wheel of our society is run by norms and adopted principles. We are the members of the society and so we all are equally responsible to adopt moral values. We should have a proper sense not to commit such immoral acts which will have a negative impact upon us. So we should follow the community standards rather than we go on spitting and smoking in public places.
I have seen many persons who even do not care about it. They even light up cigarettes in medical shops that too goes against the medical standards. Likewise, the public transport has the same problem; some passengers in buses light up their cigarettes and leave the butts inside. It is an offence if one tries to lit up his cigarette in the public bus.
How this passenger can think about it? Does it value him more before his other passengers? Shall it make him more respectable man or it will degrade him. There can be number of such examples which do happen in public places but we try to ignore them. When we ignore a little mistake today and tomorrow we would be able to ignore powerful than it. We feel these little mistakes should not be taken seriously.
Public places are always flooded with people as these places provide us daily services in various forms. The people are busy in buying items from different shopkeepers. No one can rebuke or abuse us in public places if we follow the right ways. But if we do spit in public places we may be able to get the negative response in return.
By considering this, we need to think it once while having busy schedules in public places. Both in rural and urban areas ,there are nowadays metalled lanes that connect us to our homes but unfortunately they are laden up with spitting scars. We can’t spit in the middle of road where eyes of pedestrians may directly fall on them. They may feel it very bad because of having different attitude. Someone’s spit can prove fatal to healthy man if he will not cover his mouth while spitting in public places. It is an agent for causing infections.
In Municipality areas where we see the sweepers early morning to clean public roads and places with full dedication and enthusiasm but when they see such blotted scars on roads. Obviously they feel it disgusting to clean them up at the time? Why we lose our moral values in such a way that we will be treated as animals outside the home. If we strictly follow public norms and principles we will never be demoralized in public places by others.
We need to rethink and look at our community standards and should try to follow them. Both smoking and spiting in public places has been made a punishable offence in various regions and states and such repeated offenders can possibly face imprisonment which was announced by Union Health Minister Rajesh Tope seven months back.
The Brihan Mumbai Municipal corporation has imposed a fine of Rs. 1000 if anyone is caught in spitting in public. These persistent offences are not acceptable in accordance with the Municipal laws. We consider such mistakes as simple as we do commit a little mistake in our daily activities. Never think I am powerful and I have good respect in my society. No one can demoralize you unless and until you have good values and manners to live peacefully, morally and socially.
Avoid such offences which are undesirable to our community standards and may have negative consequences in a long way. Lastly I conclude it with this special line*Public place par thooknaaur cigarette peena manah hai*
(The Author is PG in science)
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