How to calculate alcohol concentration in breath

This is an automatically translated article.

When using alcohol, the stomach and small intestine will absorb ethanol into the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, including the lungs. This is the basis for the traffic police to measure the alcohol concentration in the breath with an alcohol meter when it is suspected that the driver drinks alcohol while driving.

1. How long does it take for the body to metabolize alcohol?

Alcohol is metabolized at a steady rate for each person, but some people may feel the effects of alcohol longer than others. The thing is, blood alcohol levels can vary from person to person and from situation to situation. Blood alcohol concentration (English name is Blood alcohol concentration and abbreviated BAC) represents the amount of alcohol in the blood. Many factors can affect your BAC and how you react to alcohol, including:
Age Weight Drink alcohol on an empty stomach Medicines with liver diseases

The above factors play a very important role in predicting how long it takes to metabolize alcohol. The following are general estimates of the time it takes to metabolize different alcoholic beverages, although the amount of this time will vary depending on the amount of alcohol in the drink:

2. How to calculate alcohol concentration in breath?

Alcohol appears in the breath because it is absorbed from the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Alcohol is not metabolised upon absorption and does not change its chemical structure in the blood. Therefore, when the blood passes through the lungs, because alcohol is volatile, alcohol easily moves through the respiratory membrane of the lungs into the air. The concentration of alcohol in the alveolar air reflects the concentration of alcohol in the blood. When the alcohol in the lungs goes out during the exhalation movement, the alcohol tester can detect the alcohol concentration in the breath. Instead of having to draw a driver's blood to test for alcohol, the traffic police can check the driver's breath on the spot and quickly to know if the driver is drunk, alcohol poisoning and leading to death. traffic violations or not.

The ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol ratio is 2,100:1. This means that every 2,100 ml of breath air will contain the same amount of alcohol as 1 ml of blood. However, exhaled air is classified into three different types, so breath alcohol testers can only indirectly measure blood alcohol levels by measuring the air in the alveoli of the lungs, but cannot accurately reflect the concentration of alcohol in the blood.
In addition to the above factors, a number of other factors also affect the accuracy of the breath alcohol concentration meter such as:
If you have drunk alcohol 15 minutes before starting to measure, then evaluate The amount of alcohol in the mouth can lead to inaccurate results. Smoking, alcohol-containing products, such as mouthwashes and breath fresheners can also affect results. Sometimes the meters need to be recalibrated or the batteries replaced. These things can possibly affect the execution and reading of the results. Some software that needs to be updated sometimes causes problems.

3. Alcohol concentration penalty 2019

According to the Law on Prevention and Control of Harms of Alcohol and Beer (Law No. 44/2019/QH14) and Decree No. 100/2019/ND-CP have just been issued, from January 1, 2020, Vietnam will completely prohibit the act of operating means of transport (including cars, motorbikes, electric bicycles...) when there is alcohol concentration in the breath, in the blood. Specifically, the alcohol concentration level and the 2019 alcohol concentration penalty are as follows:

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Reference sources: webmd.com, healthline.com, chdtransport.gov.in

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