Ireland's smoking ban has not just improved the air quality in its famous pubs but has also boosted the quality of music sessions. Specifically it has helped musicians clean up their traditional instruments, clogged up with years of dirt in smoke-filled pubs.
The pub session, where musicians gather to play traditional music, is commonplace throughout bars in Ireland. Instruments include the bellows-driven accordion and Irish bagpipes.
Doctors at Dublin's St Vincent's Hospital carried out a survey of people involved in the cleaning, repair and maintenance of accordions.
PHOTO: EPA
Writing in the British Medical Journal, John Garvey and colleagues said they wanted to check the impact of the smoking ban on the quality of traditional Irish music played in the smoke-free pubs. They managed to contact six of the seven Irish experts who work with the instruments.
All said when they open accordions that were played in smoke-filled environments, there is a strong smell of cigarette smoke and soot-like deposits.
"One repairer commented that the deposition of dirt could be substantial enough to affect the pitch of the reed.
"Two others claimed that if a musician tended to play in a particular key, this could be determined from the distribution of dirt around particular reeds."
All the repairers said these signs had definitely improved in accordions they had worked on since the introduction of the smoking ban in Ireland. The doctors concluded the smoking ban has been "music to the ears of the people of Ireland."
In March 2004, Ireland outlawed smoking in every workplace, including pubs and restaurants. Anyone found breaching it faces a fine of up to 3,000 euros (NT$139,000). (AFP)
愛爾蘭的禁菸令不僅改善當地各知名酒館內的空氣品質，也提升音樂集會的素質。特別是幫助音樂家們清理在菸霧瀰漫的酒館內，經年累月累積於他們傳統樂器上的灰塵。
音樂家們在音樂集會中相聚演奏傳統音樂，是愛爾蘭各地酒館內很常見的景象。演奏的樂器包括靠風箱鼓動發聲的手風琴和愛爾蘭風笛。
都柏林聖文森醫院的醫師們針對以手風琴清潔、修理與保養為業的族群，進行了一項調查。
約翰．格維與其他同事在《英國醫學期刊》中寫道，他們要探索禁菸令對於在禁菸酒館內演奏的傳統愛爾蘭音樂音質的影響。他們聯繫了愛爾蘭七位手風琴修理專家中的六位。
所有[受訪者]都說，當他們打開在菸霧瀰漫的環境內彈奏過的手風琴時，會散發出濃厚的菸味並看到類似菸灰的沈積物。
「一位修理師父說，這些髒污沈積物足以對簧片的音準產生影響。」
「另外兩位修理師聲稱，如果音樂家想要彈出一個特定的音，是否可以彈得出來取決於特殊簧片周圍灰塵分布的狀況。」
所有修理師們都說，自從愛爾蘭制定禁菸法令以來，他們所經手的手風琴狀況確實都好轉。這群醫生表示，禁菸令「讓愛爾蘭人得到聽覺享受」。
二○○四年三月，愛爾蘭禁止在任何工作場所吸菸，包含酒館與餐廳。違法者將被處以高達三千歐元（新台幣十三萬九千元）的罰鍰。（法新社╱翻譯：艾利斯）
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