As a smoker, I can totally understand your friend. Yes, it may be gross to spit on the sidewalk, but trust me, it is SOOOO much more disgusting to keep that chuck of phlegm in your mouth until you find a suitable place to dispose of it, let alone having to just swallow it because you're not at a place you can do so. Yes, it might be our fault for being smokers, but we can't help it if a bit of phlegm comes up every now and then, it's basically unavoidable. And what about if you're sick? Keeping in the phlegm i so much worse for you than letting it out. Granted it is a bit more acceptable because getting sick is a lot harder to prevent than being a smoker.

spit smells disgusting too Yeah, of course it does, no matter how much you brush your teeth, but you have to be really close to someone's spit to smell it, no way you'd be able to smell it from the floor, that argument is totally invalid for this topic. Spitting directly on the sidewalk will ensure someone will either step in it or put effort into avoiding it. I didn't know people cared that much about stepping in spit. Unless you have some awesome as fuck shoes, whatever is on the sidewalk is already disgusting enough, I wouldn't go touching the soles of them either way so who cares if you step in some? The only way I can agree with you is if phlegm is not included. In that case it is unnecessary and I think it's gross. If you are performing a basic bodily function to remove toxic shit from inside you that's valid, doing it for no reason is a lot more revolting. And with that comes the argument of babies; I'm sure if you have/had a kid you would have delt with non stop slobber. Totally preventable, yet they still do it. Some babies drool more than others. Yet mothers are still more than happy to wipe that off their faces, and also wipe the poop from their asses and clean vomit from every surface imaginable. Yet someone trying simply to get rid of some phlegm is an abomination and should be fined? It is a carrier of disease If you have the immune system of a carrot, maybe. Any remotely average, healthy human won't get sick from something they don't come in contact with, especially when your infectable orifices are like 6 feet away from it.