"Coughs and sneezes spread diseases" was a slogan first used in the United States during the1918–20 influenza pandemic – later used in theSecond World War by Ministries of Health inCommonwealth countries – to encourage goodpublic hygiene to halt the spread of thecommon cold,influenza and otherrespiratory illnesses.
The slogan was first used in the United States during the 1918–20 influenza pandemic ("Spanish flu").[1]
It was later promoted by the United Kingdom's (andNew Zealand's)[2]Ministry of Health in 1942 to encourage good public hygiene and prevent the spread of the common cold, influenza and other respiratory illnesses.[3] Critics have said that the slogan, alongside "Keep Britain Tidy", were an example of "postwar Britain'snanny state".[4]
Posters were designed by British cartoonistH. M. Bateman and advised people to "trap the germs by using yourhandkerchief". The original posters of these were published during the Second World War and showed people in the workplace, on the street and on public transport sneezing without covering their nose or mouth, spreading theirrespiratory droplets. TheNational Archives notes that these posters were created in an attempt to prevent wartime work absenteeism because of illness.[5]
The slogan was later used intermittently by theNational Health Service (NHS) following its establishment in 1948, as well as public officials, in theH1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009[5] and theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6] The phrase was also used by the European branch of theWorld Health Organization in 2019 in a video on influenza.[7] It was combined withwashing the hands.[8][9][10] More recent campaigns by the NHS (such as "Catch it, Bin it, Kill it") promote hand washing and the use of disposablepaper handkerchiefs, or at least coughing or sneezing into one's elbow, rather than covering the mouth with a hand, so as to keep the hands uncontaminated.[11]
When asked by reporters whether the government has the spread of the virus under control, Rees-Mogg replied: 'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases, keep it in your handkerchief.'
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