The street is not a spittoon.
Don't spit paan, gutka or phlegm on roads, walls and stairwells. Carry a tissue, or use a bin or a basin.
No wall asked to wear a red stain for the rest of its life.
Here's the science
- What happensSpitting paan, gutka or sputum in public places
- HowTuberculosis and other respiratory pathogens travel through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or spits, so infectious droplets can be inhaled by others
- SoAirborne spread of tuberculosis and other respiratory infections
How it works - the size isn't measured hereGLOBAL
“It spreads through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze or spit.”
This is the transmission mechanism, not a measured effect of spitting alone. India carries the world's largest share of the global TB burden, but no study attributes a specific case count to public spitting on its own, so no number is claimed.
Source: Tuberculosis - Fact sheet - World Health Organization (WHO)(checked 2026-07-18)
And when we do it
A stairwell nobody spits in stays one you can lean against, sit near, and let a child touch without a second thought.
You couldn't have known. Now you do.