Beer in various types of glasses

How much alcohol does it take to get intoxicated?

Many people figure a few beers at a ballgame or a couple of glasses of wine with dinner won't put them over the legal limit for driving. But how alcohol affects people is highly individual, with a number of factors in the mix.

Melinda Beck, a writer for the Wall Street Journal Health Journal has done some great research and has written an article about who gets drunk and why.  Read the full article.

We'd also like to thank Melinda Beck for using the AlcoHAWK Slim Digital Alcohol Breath Tester in her testing of individuals.

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Source: Wall Street Journal Health Journal, Who Gets Drunk and Why

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Tokyoflash watch design concept

A new concept from the Tokyoflash Design Studio--a touch screen LCD watch design that does much more than simply tell you the time. It also gives an indication of your blood alcohol content (BAC) to gauge your level of sobriety.

Not sure if it is more discreet than a handheld breathalyzer since you will be blowing into your watch, an abnormal behavior that may draw the attention of some.

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Source: Tokyoflash, How Drunk Are You? This LCD Watch Design Will Tell You!

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Think this is a product worth developing or not? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Bay City Police Officer
Dan Anderson

A feel-good news story came across the breathalyzer news lines yesterday. In Bay City, Michigan a police officer (Dan Anderson), after meeting with the Good Samaritain Rescue Mission's director (Debbie Nelson), went back to the office and decided that he needed to help the homeless shelter out by providing a breathalyzer kit.  After Dan and a few fellow officers pitched in they were able to purchase a breathalyzer kit and donate it to the resuce misson.  Needless to say, Debbie and the rest of the mission staff were very pleased and thankful for the gesture. "This is a total surprise," Nelson said. "And to have the officers purchase this out of their own pocket is humbling."

Way to go Dan! We're glad that breathlayzers are playing an important role in the rehabilitation of homeless individuals.

Did you know that Q3 has donated breathalyzers to various organizations? View our Q3 Cares page.

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Source: Michigan Live, Bay City Police buy breathalyzer kit for area homeless shelter

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Have any comments on this post? We'd be glad to hear them!

Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric bypass surgery reduces the stomach to a small pouch and bypasses part of the small intestine, so less food will be absorbed when it passes through the gut. Changes in the way the body absorbs and metabolizes alcohol after gastric bypass mean these patients need less alcohol to register intoxication on a breathalyzer, says a study published recently in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

After drinking a single 5-ounce glass of red wine before their surgery, the study's 19 subjects had an average breath alcohol content of .024% -- well below the level at which most states consider a driver intoxicated.

Three months after surgery, the same glass of red wine resulted in an average breath alcohol content of .059%, and six months post-surgery, the group averaged .088%, which surpasses the .08% widely recognized as the legal threshold for intoxication.

It also took longer for patients to return to complete sobriety in the wake of that drink: Pre-operation, it took subjects 49 minutes to return to complete sobriety after a glass of wine; three months after the operation, it took  61 minutes for that to happen, and six months after surgery, it took 88 minutes.

As always, get to know your body and how it reacts to alcohol by using a breathalyzer.

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Source: Los Angeles Times, Gastric bypass and alcohol: Mix with caution

8% of Sports Fans Drunk at Games

A new study published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found about 60 per cent of fans surveyed had blew a zero on a breathalyzer, 40 per cent tested positive for alcohol in their blood. In total, 8.4 per cent were legally drunk, with a blood alcohol level higher than .08.

That results in approximately 8% of professional sports fans who agreed to be surveyed were legally drunk when leaving the stadium after a game.

As a precaution, please bring a breathalyzer with you to the game and monitor your alcohol consumption.  Be safe and responsible when you are enjoying the game!

Source: CTVNews, http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20110118/drunk-sports-fans-110118/

DUI Patrol, photo by: Steven Damron

As the winter holiday season approaches area police will be stepping up their DUI enforcement efforts throughout your state. If you are going to be out drinking take a cab home or bring along your breathalyzer and test yourself before driving.

Depending on your state, a DUI conviction comes with steep penalties for even first time offenders, including up to one year in jail, up to $2500 in fines, a six month license suspension and mandatory use of a breath alcohol ignition interlock device.

When pulling over drivers police officers look for a variety of indicators to spot potential drunk drivers, these include:

• Turning widely
• Braking erratically
• Driving without headlights
• Weaving, swerving, drifting out of the lanes
• Straddling the center line
• Responding slowly to a change in traffic signals
• Turning abruptly
• Accelerating or decelerating rapidly

Don't have a breathalyzer? We offer personal breathalyzers right here at Q3ATS. Looking for a professional breathalyzer? The AlcoHAWK PT500 is used by police officers to do roadside screening of potential drunk drivers.

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Source: 24-7 Press Release, Approaching Holiday Season Means Increased DUI Patrols in Illinois

MICHIGAN (WJRT) -- (10/17/10) -- Beginning Oct.31, Michigan will join 45 other states in imposing stricter penalties for first-time drunken drivers who register more than .17 on breathalyzer tests.

Punishment for being so-called "super drunk" includes 180 days in jail, as opposed to 93 for registering .16 and lower. Fines will also be higher.

Lawmakers and lawyers are at odds as to whether the initiative is necessary or overly harsh.

Source: WYRT-TV, http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7729524

The Newfoundland and Labrador government of Canada has introduced changes to the Highway Traffic Act to give greater penalties to people who drink and drive but don't fail a breathalyzer test.

Currently, if the test finds a driver has a blood alcohol level greater than 0.08 he or she is charged with impaired driving.

If the changes are adopted, drivers who blow between 0.05 and 0.08 on a breathalyzer test will lose their driving privileges for seven days instead of the current 24 hours.

The penalty for repeat offenders will also increase up to a maximum of six months.

If you think these new changes may affect you, think about purchasing a breathalyzer for your personal use before you think about driving on the roads of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada.

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Source: CBC News, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/06/15/nl-drinking-penalties-615.html

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Comments are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Bicycle breathalyzer

Interesting news article to share today, a team of engineers at Taiwan's Chienkuo Technology University have built a bicycle with a separate electric motor driving each wheel, handlebar warmers and a breathalyzer that will prevent the bike from being ridden if the cyclist is over the legal limit.

It doesn't look like there is much demand for this type of invention, but kudos to the engineers for their ingenuity.

Source: Environmental Transport Association (ETA): The electric bicycle breathalyzer: The bike you can’t ride drunk

When many people think of alcohol abusers, they picture teenagers sneaking drinks before high school football games or at unsupervised parties. However, alcohol abuse is prevalent within many demographic groups in the United States. People who abuse alcohol can be:

• College students who binge drink at local bars.
• Pregnant women who drink and put their babies at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome.
• Professionals who drink after a long day of work.
• Senior citizens who drink out of loneliness.

In 2007, more than one fifth (23.3 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to taking SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This translates to about 57.8 million people. The rate in 2007 is similar to the rate in 2006 (23.0 percent).

To recognize the serious problem of alcohol abuse, April is designated “Alcohol Awareness Month.”

If you suspect that you might have a drinking problem, or you know someone who abuses alcohol, please contact SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7.

Source: SAMHSA: April is Alcohol Awareness Month

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To support Alcohol Awareness Month we have a special running this April; $5 off on any digital breathalyzer. To enjoy this discount simply add a breathalyzer to the cart and enter promo code AP10. This offer will expire the end of this month. We hope this enables more people to afford a personal breathalyzer. Have a safe and happy Alcohol Awareness Month.