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Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

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Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby Gillthepainter » Sun Dec 09, 2018 12:37 pm

If you've ever been stopped and breathalized, it's a lovely feeling knowing you are absolutely stone cold sober.

But what if you've had a boozy feast, of mince pies, wine gravy and brandy butter?

I found this interesting, as my sister, who drinks rarely, had a non-alcoholic fruity cider a week ago.
Luckily she spotted the barman had given her a 5% boozy bottle, before taking a sip. Half an hour later, she was breathalized by the police when leaving the pub, thank goodness she hadn't drunk the fill alco-bottle.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... o-find-out

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Re: Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby Badger's Mate » Sun Dec 09, 2018 1:11 pm

I eat one and record no change. I eat another and my breathalyser goes off like an air-raid siren, recording a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.8%. True, it goes back to zero after 10 minutes,



At this point, Bad Science alarm bells should be going off like an air-raid siren...


I bought a bottle of alcohol free beer last week in Tesco. It was a variant of Ghost Ship, actually 0.5% abv. When I got to the self-service till, I had to have my age verified, because it's on the system as beer. Naturally the lad who did it looked about 12... :D

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Re: Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby Gillthepainter » Sun Dec 09, 2018 1:44 pm

Yes it is a worry that none alcoholic drinks, can still hold 0.5% or less despite the labelling claims.
I drink fizzy water if I'm driving.

Sometimes, I'll take an alcohol free beer tho.
And I do cook with alcohol free wine often. As it tends to be very cheap.

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Re: Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Sun Dec 09, 2018 6:44 pm

This year I am going to have to avoid driving before eating any of our Christmas cake. If I am driving anywhere, I avoid any alcohol completely by sticking to soft drinks only. I think if the mince pies were particularly boozy, I wouldn't bother with any brandy butter or mulled wine.

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Re: Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby Badger's Mate » Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:59 pm

The point I was making was that the article is nonsense.

Each mince pie is about 60g, and approximately 50% mincemeat. The mincemeat contains more than a dozen ingredients and Brandy is 5th on the list. Given that ingredients are listed in descending order of proportion, there must be less than 6g brandy per pie, probably much less. It's safe to assume less than 6mls. Spirits are typically 40%abv, so less than 2.4mls ethanol per pie. A unit of alcohol is 10mls, thus each pie contains less than a quarter of a unit.

80 milligrams per 100 millilitres is 0.08%. Two pies are not going to give you that level of blood alcohol, never mind 0.8%, which would be 10 times the legal limit. I'd assume that's a typo, but fear the journalist simply doesn't know the difference as he later claims that a bit of fruit cake gave him blood alcohol of 1.2%, fifteen times the legal limit.

Breathalysers do not measure blood alcohol, they measure alcohol in breath and estimate blood alcohol from that. If you swill your mouth with alcohol (booze, mouthwash, mince pie) and immediately blow into the tube it will pick up the alcohol which hasn't yet gone into your bloodstream, hence 'it goes back to zero after 10 minutes'

Journalist misuses breath test kit and makes a story of it. He isn't getting 'hammered' on 2 mince pies and a piece of fruit cake. For him to claim otherwise is either gullibility or mendacity.

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Re: Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby Pampy » Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:33 pm

And don't forget that if you eat something that has been cooked, most of the alcohol evaporates during cooking.

I was breathalyzed last January when I was in a car accident (they do it as a matter of course) - even though i hadn't had any alcohol for months, I still had a tingle of fear that something would register! Silly, I know - and it registered 0!

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Re: Boozy Chrimbo food and the breathalizer

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:33 pm

I agree with Badger’s Mates figures

Boozy food can push you over the limit if you have been drinking “just a touch” intending to stay below the limit but on its own I doubt even my rum soaked black cake could put you over the limit - I think you’d be queasy from the richness long before you counted as in any way drunk. But I suppose you might just fail a breathalyser within 20 or 30 minutes of eating it when the fumes are on your breath, though the blood test would be fine

Worth remembering that the definition of “alcohol free” is based on the limits for duty / tax purposes, not medical or physiological

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