Youth senators want betel nut spitting penalized

The 4th Youth Congress has passed a bill that would include betel nut spitting and tobacco spitting in the definition of littering, thus making it unlawful to spit betel nut and tobacco in public places.

The bill, Youth Congress Bill 4-03, was passed during last week’s session. It now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. If the Legislature considers the bill worthy of passage, a counterpart bill will be passed to make it into a law.

The measure, as authored by Youth Sen. Perry Inos, would amend 2 CMC Section 3411 of the Commonwealth Litter Control Act of 1989 to include betel nut spit and tobacco spit within the definition of “litter” and the act of spitting these in the definition of “littering.”

Inos said that, in the enactment of the Commonwealth Litter Control Act of 1989, it was determined that maintaining environmental quality is as important to the Commonwealth’s welfare as to the economy.

He added that the care and maintenance of the CNMI’s environment should be at its optimum level and, since the enactment of the Act on September 8, 1989, there have been visible improvements in the quality and cleanliness of the Commonwealth.

“However, the Commonwealth is stricken with another type of pollution and eyesore: betel nut spit and tobacco spit. One only needs to drive along Beach Road and look on the road or go to any public building to see betel nut spit or tobacco spit all over [these places],” he said.

The Youth Congress senator said prohibiting betel nut spit and tobacco spit in public places, other than in appropriate storage containers, would improve the CNMI’s environment and the beautification of the islands.

“Certainly, the Legislature is not infringing on this lifelong tradition because chewing is not prohibited. However, there is a need to balance between spitting the residue of chewing betel nut and chewing tobacco and taking care of our environment,” he added.

At the moment, the current state of the Litter Control Act is insufficient and the Commonwealth’s litter control campaign is ineffective in addressing these types of pollution, he said, thus making it necessary to include betel nut spit/spitting and tobacco spit/spitting within the definition of “litter” and “littering.”