You have been stopped by the police on your way home from a night out with frien

Question

You have been stopped by the police on your way home from a night out with friends. Although not drunk, you have been drinking. Using the forensic toxicology framework provided in Week 11, describe what has happened to you physically from the time of your first drink.

Next, the officer has  decided to test you roadside. Assume that you agree, what can you tell me about the breath test. Suppose you elect to get a blood test instead. Is this more or less prone to error? What is the methodology behind the BA?

Explanation / Answer

Blood alcohol concentration increases as the person drinks alcohol continuously. Liver breaks down 90% of alcohol to water but it acts slowly at a standard drink per hour. High levels lead to slow breathing, loss of consciousness. Upto 8% of alcohol evaporates into lungs from blood through breath and this can find in breath analyzer after 15 min of drinking. Alcohol easily and fastly passes into blood and stays in blood until it is breaker down by liver. Breathing test is more accurate than blood test because alcohol concentration depends on blood chemistry.

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