NCJ Number
206543
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 49 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2004 Pages: 829-831
Date Published
July 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This study examined the potential for breath freshener strips to interfere with the accuracy of two of the most common methods of breath alcohol measurement: infrared absorption and the electrochemical fuel cell.
Abstract
Breath strips are strips of edible film that contain breath freshening ingredients. A strip placed on the tongue rapidly dissolves, leaving the content of the strip in the mouth cavity. This study sought to determine whether breath strips affect the results of breath alcohol testing, either due to the presence of alcohol or other interfering substances in the strips. The authors were the subjects for the experiment. Neither subject had consumed alcohol in the last 48 hours, and both tested 0.000 on both testing systems prior to beginning the experiment. Each subject placed a breath strip on his/her tongue, waited 30 seconds with the mouth closed for the strip to dissolve, and them supplied a breath to the breath testing instrument. After an additional 2-minute wait, the subject supplied a second breath to the instrument. The subject then rinsed his/her mouth with water and proceeded to test the next breath strip. All strips were tested on an Alco-Sensor IV-XL and then the tests were repeated using a BAC DataMaster. Twelve varieties of breath freshener strips from 5 manufacturers were used in the study. The tests indicated that although there may be a small amount of potential interference with the results of an infrared breath test, the interference from a single strip is quite small and short-lived. The use of a single breath strip more than a few minutes prior to giving a breath sample should not be expected to alter the testing results. In addition, when properly conducted, a pretest deprivation and observation period ensures that the subject does not eat, drink, or place anything in his/her mouth for at least 15 minutes prior to beginning an evidential breath test. 1 table and 18 references