Category: Alcohol Testing

Discover how long breathalyzers can detect alcohol. It’s easy to know. I. Calculating Detection Time. Basically, two things determine how long a breathalyzer can detect alcohol. One is person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level. The other is how long ago they drank. (“Breathalyzer” is really a brand name of an alcohol breath detector. Other names […]

Ignition interlock devices (IIDs) are alcohol breath testers attached to other equipment in a motor vehicle. As such, they are subject to the various sources of error that plague other breath testers. Makers typically gloss over the inadequacies of the machines they sell. They’re frequently guilty of making claims not verified by independent researchers. So […]

Hand sanitizers can cause breathalyzer results to give falsely high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) readings. Thus people who administer breathalyzer tests can accidentally raise BAC readings if they use hand sanitizers. This can be a serious problem, especially in hospital. In most medical settings, people generally use hand sanitizers many times a day. These liquids […]

Many myths surround the subject of DWI and DUI.* Scientific information and evidence is used here to correct some of those myths. It’s fun to discover DWI and DUI facts and fiction. Share them with your family and friends! Myth: Sucking on pennies will lower a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reading. Fact: Sucking on […]

Research shows that drinking alcohol improves heart attack survival. This is true of drinking both before and after a heart attack. This isn’t surprising. Drinking alcohol in moderation improves heart health. It also reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This includes heart attacks. That is, myocardial infarctions (MI) or acute myocardial infarctions (AMI).  Some Studies Here are […]

Alcohol exclusion laws were passed in the late 1940s. They were to discourage people from abusing alcohol. This saves insurance companies money. That’s because they can deny alcohol-related medical claims. These claims could include traffic-related or any other alcohol-related injury. But there was great hope that they would reduce drunk driving.(1) The logic seemed reasonable. […]

Endogenous alcohol is ethanol that is produced naturally in all living humans. The resulting blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is generally  low. However, auto-brewery syndrome is associated with very high BACs. It occurs after eating meals rich in carbohydrates. Although everyone has endogenous alcohol in their bloodstream, auto-brewery syndrome is rare. Its origin is in the […]

False breathalyzer results are caused by any of a number of things. (‘Breathalyzer’ has become generic for any alcohol breath testing device. But it’s actually a brand name. Others are Alcoscan, Alcosensor, BAC Datamaster, and Intoxilyzer.) Acetone Acetone in the breath is one cause of false blood alcohol concentration (BAC) results from breathalyzers. Readings from […]

About half of all alcohol-related traffic crash deaths involve drivers with BACs of at least 0.16 or higher. (BAC is alcohol breath concentration.) That’s twice the legal limit. Many of these high-BAC drivers are hard core drunk drivers. They repeatedly abuse alcohol and drive while drunk. Hard core drunk drivers are a major threat to […]

Indiana alcohol laws surprise many people. They prohibit those under 21 from taking communion wine or wine with Seder. And they prohibit parents from teaching their offspring how to drink in moderation. They prohibit 20-year-old newlyweds from sharing a glass of wine at their reception. It’s all too easy to break alcohol laws in Indiana. […]