Ohio DUI Cases and Breath Testing Flaws

To make matters worse, the machine detects alcohol through "additive absorption." In other words, the more methyl groups the instrument detects by their absorbing the infrared energy, the higher will be the blood-alcohol reading. Thus all of the non-alcoholic compounds on the breath will have a cumulative effect—that is, the errors will be added one on top of another.

How prevalent are chemicals in the breath that can register on breath analyzing machines? Here are some common things that can give falsely high readings:

• Untreated Diabetics

• Persons on a Weight Reduction Diet

• Fasting

• Long-term smokers are more likely to have higher blood-alcohol readings due to a greater amount of acetaldehyde in the lungs.

• Alcoholics can have 5 to 55 times higher levels of acetaldehyde in there breath or blood than that in non-alcoholics.

• Inhaling Paint and Glue Fumes

• Inhaling Lacquer Fumes

• Swallowing Unleaded Gasoline

• Bread Products of various types

There have been a number of recognized studies on the existence of chemical compounds on the breath, all concluding that a wide variety of compounds exists, including compounds containing the methyl group. 

Alcohol and the Human Body
Very general discussion of the physiological effects of ethanol.

Facts on Tap
Discussion of symptoms associated with different blood alcohol concentrations.

Intoximeters, Inc
One of the major manufacturers of breath instruments used by law enforcement.

Among many sources of error in breath machines is the fact that they do not actually measure alcohol. Rather, they detect all chemical compounds containing a common chemical structure — there are thousands of these, over 100 of which have been found on the human breath — and measure them cumulatively as "alcohol".