No Country For Old Habits

"No spitting campaign gets a big start," declared a Page 1 article on Aug 2, 1958, the year before Singapore achieved self-governance.

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Anti-spitting posters were put up, including at the City Council building, a rally was held to spread the message, and thousands of letters passing through post offices in Singapore were stamped with the words "Don't Spit".

Spitting – and its potential to spread disease – was a public health menace, and it had plagued Singapore for a long time.

Beyond reporting, The Straits Times has served as a platform for civic frustration and concern, with readers writing in regularly to express alarm at the poor hygiene of their fellow men. Reports over the decades also show that while the tools to fight bad habits have changed – from posters to urine detectors – the message has remained constant.

In 1925, a century ago, a reader wrote in to suggest that anti-spitting notices be displayed in government offices, trams, eating houses and other public places. "The spitting that goes on in our trams is positively dangerous," said the reader, adding that a crackdown on spitting might help prevent the spread of tuberculosis.

The problem of keeping public places clean persisted beyond World War II, alongside worries about malnutrition in the population.

In 1947, a doctor wrote to the paper to note that spitting in the street and buses was far too common: "I have even shared a taxi with a man who occupied his time expectorating on the floor."