Smoke ban is music to ears of accordion players
Friday September 28 2007
The smoking ban has not only led to cleaner air in Irish pubs -- but also appears to have improved the quality of the music.
Doctors in St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin carried out a survey of people involved in the care of accordions.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr John Garvey and colleagues said they looked at the impact of the ban on the quality of traditional music played in pubs.
There is, they say, anecdotal evidence that the interiors of accordions played regularly in smoke-filled environments are dirtied as a result of the trapping of contaminant particles circulating in the air as it filters through the instrument.
So they conducted a telephone survey of all workers involved in the cleaning, repair, maintenance, and renovation of accordions in the Republic. They managed to contact six out of seven such workers.
All participants pointed out that a strong smell of cigarette smoke emanates from accordions played in a smoke-filled environment when they are opened.
All who were questioned stated categorically that these signs had definitely improved in accordions they had worked on since the introduction of the smoking ban in Ireland.
