Confessions of an accordion cleaner

doi:10.1136/bmj.39346.507778.3A

BMJ 2007;335:630 (29 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39346.507778.3A

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Banning smoking

Confessions of an accordion cleaner

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Haw and Gruer document the reduction in exposure to secondhandsmoke since the implementation of smoke-free legislation inScotland.¹ We report further evidence of reduced exposure tosecondhand smoke in Irish pubs since the legislation in theRepublic of Ireland.² ³

The pub session (or seisiún in Gaelic), where musiciansgather to play traditional music together, is commonplace throughoutbars in Ireland. Instruments include the accordion, concertina,melodeon, and Uilleann (or Irish) bagpipes, all of which arebellows driven instruments.

There is anecdotal evidence that the interiors of accordionsplayed regularly in smoke filled environments are dirtied asa result of the trapping of contaminant particles circulatingin the air as it filters through the instrument. We conducteda telephone survey of all workers involved in the cleaning,repair, maintenance, and renovation of accordions in the Republicof Ireland. We managed successfully to contact six out of sevensuch workers.

All . . . [Full text of this article]

John F Garvey, specialist registrar¹, Paul McElwaine, clinical tutor¹, Thomas S Monaghan, specialist registrar (neurology)², Walter T McNicholas, director³

¹ Pulmonary and Sleep Disorders Unit, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland, ² Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, ³ Pulmonary and Sleep Disorders Unit, St Vincent's University Hospital

john.garvey@ucd.ie

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Changes in exposure of adult non-smokers to secondhand smoke after implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland: national cross sectional survey: Sally J Haw and Laurence Gruer
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