Posted By Eric Burt I have received confirmation from the Health Protection Agency that the so-called HIV-infected needle in the cinema seat is in fact a hoax. This one is being circulated widely and I have received it via many sources both at work and at home. Other recent hoaxes include needles in childrens ball-ponds, anti-perspirant and breast cancer and the plug-in air fresheners/fire e-mails. This link was sent to me by the HPA which lists many more, some of which are non-health and safety. http://hoaxbusters.ciac....ths.shtml#needlestheater We have asked e-mail users not to circulate e-mails such as this unless they have checked their authenticity. Eric

Posted By Terry Reading Eric I have not come across this hoax email to which you refer. However, a few years ago I was the Safety Manager for a large international cinema chain - who's name I will keep out of this forum - and we did have an actual incident when a contract cleaner stabbed their hand whilst cleaning between the seats on a needle that had been left there. Fortuneately all the medical tests cleared this person, but it shows that it can happen. It was the only recorded incident in the industry that I was aware of (up to when I left in 2003) at that time. Also, as cinemas are dark and not always crowded, people often get up to more than you might think in the auditorium. Due to constant cut backs in staff it was rare for enough staff to be around to check the cinema screens regularly during a performance. It was more common to find - although it was the same cinemas that always had the incidents - needles in the toilets or around the back of the building. But I guess this is no different to certain public toilets or those in shopping centres which become used for such activities until preventative measures are taken. T.