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Only time will beat the breathalyser

UK personal breathalyser manufacturer AlcoSense has debunked a number of common myths about drink driving and reinforced that only time will reduce your blood alcohol content (BAC).


AlcoSense CEO, Hunter Abbott, said attempts to beat the breatho were futile and often made matters worse.

“Breathalysers are pretty foolproof devices and if you have been drinking there is no escaping a positive result.

“The best advice for anyone who has had a drink is, don’t drive. You will always find people trying them [urban myths]. But police have seen them all and if they think you are trying it on, you will get more closely examined,” Mr Abbott said.

AlcoSense says drinking strong coffee or lots of water, vomiting, sucking on a copper coin, taking cold showers, and getting exercise and fresh air do nothing to reduce the alcohol content in your blood.

Indeed, many “breatho beaters” often inflate the reading.

Holding your breath before the test causes the concentration of alcohol in the air in the lungs, as air is not passing through them but you blood continues to flow around.

Trying to burp it out causes liquids and gases in the stomach – including any alcohol – to rise up into the soft tissue of the oesophagus and oral cavity where they remain until they naturally dissipate.

Spraying breath fresheners can also give a falsely elevated reading, as most sprays contain a high concentration of mint.

And although hyperventilating does have the effect of lowering your breath sample, the police are on to this, and combat it with the pre-test chat and assessment.

The current legal Australian drink drive limit is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.5 percent) or 0.05 BAC. The UK limit is 0.08 BAC.

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