Abstract:
Introduction: Driving motor vehicles under the influence of alcohol is one of the serious violations of
road traffic rules, as well as one of the frequent causes of traffic accidents. Drivers, whether in traffic accidents
or random checks, in which the presence of alcohol (ethanol) in exhaled air is detected through a breath
analyzer, often use as an excuse the use of mouthwash or food containing alcohol just before passing the
breath test.
Purpose of research: The presented work aimed to verify in an experiment the influence of the use/
ingestion of mouthwash containing ethanol by the examined person on the result of the breath test.
Material and methods: LISTERINE® TOTAL CARE® 6 in 1 BENEFITS mouthwash was used for the purposes
of the experiment. Twelve healthy persons (9 men and 3 women) with an average age of 44.25 years and
an average body mass index of 27.85 participated in the experiment. Breath tests were performed with a
Dräger 7510 device from the Dräger company.
Results: After using 20 ml of mouthwash for 30 seconds, there was a decrease in the detected average
values of ethanol by 71.3% between the 2nd and 5th minute and by 96.1% by the 10th minute, after using
30 ml of mouthwash for one minute between the 2nd and 5th minutes there was a decrease in the detected average values of ethanol by 74.2% and by the 10th minute by 97.4%, and in both cases even after the subsequent ingestion of mouthwash there was a decrease in the detected average values between the 2nd and
5th minutes ethanol values by 83.3% and by the 10th minute by 100%. In the time interval of 15 minutes, all
breath tests were negative.
Discussion: The results of breath tests can be influenced by several factors, which the advocacy uses to
challenge their positive results. Questioning is based on three options: questioning the device, questioning
based on the operator and questioning based on the person under investigation. He does not even avoid
questioning the so-called conversion factor. Drivers’ excuses for using Listerine mouthwash containing
alcohol (ethanol) may ultimately affect the outcome of court proceedings if they do not comply with the
rules for breathalyser performance. It is generally known that if the positivity of the breath test is caused
only by the use of mouthwash containing alcohol, or food or food containing alcohol and not by consuming
an alcoholic drink, a repeated test at a time interval of 15 minutes is negative.
Conclusion: Ingestion of mouthwash did not affect the results of breath tests. A necessary condition
for the performance of breath tests is compliance with a 15-minute time interval before the performance
of the first breath test in justified cases and also between repeated breath tests. In the event that the driver
considers the result of the breath test to be false positive, he has the option of requesting a blood sample
and its examination by the gas chromatography method.
