> I would like to know how it is affecting the beekeepers.

From a newsletter article that I wrote in November 2002:

SMOKING IS GOOD FOR YOU?
I am sure that many of us, especially the non-smokers, have sometimes wondered what effect the smoke from our smokers was having on our lungs!
A recently published paper in the Journal of Apicultural Research, 'Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function tests in beekeepers exposed to biomass smoke inhalation', reported on work carried out in Turkey to investigate the risk to beekeepers from using smoke to subdue bees.
The paper quotes reports that exposure to smoke caused by 'biomass combustion' (bonfires to you and me?) is one of the main causes of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in non-smokers living in rural villages. A group of 34 beekeepers and 25 control subjects was studied and they were divided into smokers and non-smokers (of cigarettes) - although how they managed to find anyone in Turkey who does not chain-smoke is a mystery to me after our recent holiday there!
The results showed that respiratory symptoms were no different in beekeepers from control subjects for each smoking and non-smoking group, but that either beekeepers or control subjects from the smokers group showed decreased lung function and increased respiratory symptoms (coughing, sputum, breathing difficulties).
It is suggested that 'less intense and short periods of smoke use in addition to outdoor exposure to biomass smoke in beekeepers may be a factor of lower risk for chronic bronchitis'.
I note that the type of smoker fuel used was not studied (beekeepers in rural Turkey possibly use only natural materials - leaves, grass, wood etc), unlike many beekeepers here who burn noxious materials such as corrugated cardboard or even baler twine!

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W

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