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Hygiene advocates document our lack of hand washing

Potty training in Hong Kong  leaves a lot to be desired as a  survey  has found that one in five people do not wash their hands after using public toilets.

Of the 371 public toilet users polled, 71 - or about 20 per cent -  said they  did not wash their hands. And here is the gender difference: 65 of them  were men,  according to People's Health Actions, an advocacy group, and the Hong Kong Toilet Association, which  conducted the survey last month.

The new toilet association, with doctors, engineers and professionals as members, conducts exchanges with similar groups in other countries to compare and improve hygiene standards.

For the survey, volunteers from  both groups were sent to interview toilet users for eight to 10 hours at 20 public toilets on Hong Kong Island.

'As a doctor, I think it is serious that 20 per cent of toilet users do not wash their hands. Hong Kong people should have learnt the painful lesson after the Sars epidemic,' said former legislator and  association vice-president Lo Wing-lok.

He said that because of physical differences, women were more likely to wash their hands after using the toilet than men.

The findings also showed  that the facilities at a public toilet  had a marked effect on users' hand washing behaviour. About 85 per cent who went to toilets with automatic taps  washed their hands, compared with 78 per cent who used toilets that were fitted with  standard taps.

The two groups suggested posting signs at  men's toilets to remind men to their wash hands and install automatic taps  at public toilets.

In response to the survey, permanent secretary for health, welfare and food Carrie Yau Tsang Ka-lai  said the government would pursue the groups' suggestions.



Little humour in toilet habits