Drunk
on Listerine Mouthwash
Information
courtesy of Lawrence Taylor - DUIblog
Some
time ago in a post entitled "Breath Fresheners and Breathalyzers"
I commented that one of many problems with breathalyzers was that
they cannot distinguish alcohol coming from the blood by way of
the lungs from alcohol in the mouth or throat. As a result, any
use of breath fresheners or mouthwash will cause falsely high readings
on the machines:
One
common source of breath alcohol is breath spray, as well as mouthwash
-- both of which contain significant amounts of alcohol. Listerine,
for example, contains 27% alcohol, Scope 19% and Astring-O-Sol
76%. Even a tiny amount of this on the breath or in the throat,
if multiplied by the machine 2100 times, can result in high breathalyzer
readings.
I failed
to consider the possibility of a Listerine cocktail. For those doubting
the strength of mouthwash, consider the following story from CNN:
ADRIAN,
Michigan (AP) -- A woman arrested after failing a sobriety test
and telling police she drank three glasses of Listerine has pleaded
guilty to drunken driving.
Carol
Ries, 50, was pulled over after she rear-ended another vehicle
at a red light on January 9. She passed one breathalyzer test,
but failed another that used different equipment.
Police
found a bottle of Listerine in her car, and she told them she
had drunk three glasses earlier in the day. Her blood alcohol
level was more than three times the legal limit, police said.
According
to Listerine manufacturer Pfizer Inc.'s Web site, original formula
Listerine contains 26.9 percent alcohol, while other varieties
contain 21.6 percent alcohol.
The
focus of the story is on the novelty of drinking Listerine. But
note that Ms. Ries "passed one
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