The length of time that breathalyzers are able to detect alcohol varies. For the most part, breathalyzers can detect even the smallest amount of alcohol in a person's system. However, the concern for most people is that their blood alcohol levels be under the legal limit for being considered intoxicated. In the U.S., an individual's BAC needs to be under 0.04 to pass a breathalyser test while 0.08 is considered drunk. 0.015 BAC is the standard rate that alcohol leaves the body. To determine the number of hours needed for your body to be free of alcohol, simply take a breathalyser reading and divide it by the standard. For example, if a breathalyzer gave a BAC reading of 0.150, divide 0.150 by the standard 0.015, which will equal 10. This means that it will take 10 hours for the alcohol to clear your body.
Alcohol is absorbed into the body at a much quicker rate than food. On an empty stomach, 20 per cent of alcohol is absorbed immediately into the bloodstream. The average person's body breaks down alcohol at a rate of 20 to 30mg/dL per hour. The standard rate of alcohol excretion is 0.015 blood alcohol content points (BAC) per hour. Breathalysers use BAC to show the current measure of alcohol in your body via a breath analysis.
Since they do not measure blood alcohol content directly, breathalysers are prone to error. Various factors such as body temperature, blood composition, presence of blood in the mouth or acid reflux can play a role in creating inaccurate readings. Also, there are many compounds found in the body, such as ketones, that are chemically similar to alcohol and high levels of such compounds could produce a falsely high reading. Devices using semiconductor oxide sensors have proven to be the most accurate, with accuracy levels of ±0.01 percent at 0.10 per cent BAC.
Alcohol is absorbed into the body at a much quicker rate than food. On an empty stomach, 20 per cent of alcohol is absorbed immediately into the bloodstream. The average person's body breaks down alcohol at a rate of 20 to 30mg/dL per hour. The standard rate of alcohol excretion is 0.015 blood alcohol content points (BAC) per hour. Breathalysers use BAC to show the current measure of alcohol in your body via a breath analysis.
Since they do not measure blood alcohol content directly, breathalysers are prone to error. Various factors such as body temperature, blood composition, presence of blood in the mouth or acid reflux can play a role in creating inaccurate readings. Also, there are many compounds found in the body, such as ketones, that are chemically similar to alcohol and high levels of such compounds could produce a falsely high reading. Devices using semiconductor oxide sensors have proven to be the most accurate, with accuracy levels of ±0.01 percent at 0.10 per cent BAC.
