The Effect of Respiratory Aerosol Inhalers and Nasal Sprays on Breath Alcohol Testing Devices Used in Great Britain

Abstract

Subjects suffering from respiratory diseases occasionally experience difficulty when attempting to provide breath samples to satisfy the requirements of breath alcohol testing devices. In order to assist ventilation, such subjects may resort to the use of an aerosol inhaler. Twenty aerosol inhalers containing drugs which exhibit an effect on the respiratory system and five nasal sprays used to relieve the symptoms of hay fever, have been tested for interference on the range of breath alcohol measuring devices used by the police in Great Britain. No interference attributable to the contents of any of the aerosol inhalers or nasal sprays tested was observed on any of the instruments in police use.

Effect of hydrofluoroalkane–ethanol inhalers on estimated alcohol levels in asthmatic subjects

“…There is controversy as to whether the ethanol used in these inhalers may interfere with random breath testing for the assessment of alcohol intoxication. Inhalers containing ethanol may transiently increase exhaled breath alcohol levels in normal subjects, 3,4 and in addition, alcohol‐based mouthwashes have been reported to increase breath alcohol levels transiently, 5 These changes have not, however, been documented in asthmatic subjects, who would be the actual users of MDI for the management and control of their asthma.…”

Comparison of the Analytical Capabilities of the BAC Datamaster and Datamaster DMT Forensic Breath Testing Devices

“…Other perennial challenges include miscellaneous workplace solvents, paint or turpentine use, or acetaldehyde on breath being mistaken for ethanol by the Datamaster. Some of these claims have been repeatedly disproven in the literature (9,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(38)(39)(40)(41), as most such solvents and compounds are toxic or lethal in very small doses (46), and so would not be expected to be present in the breath of living human subjects at levels which could significantly interfere with a breath test result.…”

“…KEYWORDS: forensic science, Datamaster, DMT, breath alcohol testing, radiofrequency interference, interferents, objects in mouth, length of blow, mouth alcohol Breath alcohol testing is often subjected to legal challenges to the reliability of the instrument. The potential effects of mouth alcohol (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10), objects or jewelry in the mouth (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), solvents and other chemicals (9,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), endogenous acetone (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35), gastroesophageal reflux disorders (36,37), and acetaldehyde (38)(39)(40)(41) on the breath test result have been raised as objections for so long that most of these have been investigated in controlled experiments in response. Although most of these issues have been disproven in laboratory and field studies (9,17,(38)…”

“…Breath alcohol testing is often subjected to legal challenges to the reliability of the instrument. The potential effects of mouth alcohol (1–10), objects or jewelry in the mouth (11–16), solvents and other chemicals (9,17–27), endogenous acetone (28–35), gastroesophageal reflux disorders (36,37), and acetaldehyde (38–41) on the breath test result have been raised as objections for so long that most of these have been investigated in controlled experiments in response. Although most of these issues have been disproven in laboratory and field studies (9,17,38–41), they are still introduced in court as possible defenses.…”