Alcohol Testing Explained

Alcohol forms a positive part of most people's lives in today's society, unfortunately, largely due to its legality, availability and relatively low cost, it is the most widely abused.

Even a small amount of alcohol in the system can impair an individual. The safety implications to that individual and his colleagues within the working environment are obvious.

There are different methods of testing for alcohol in the body. Testing for alcohol generally relies on breath testing since this is non-invasive, accurate and has been accepted as best practice.

The programme of testing can involve one or more of the four following scenarios:

• Pre-employment,
• For cause 
• Follow-up testing,
• Unannounced or random

Please see the Drug Testing Explained section for a more detailed explanation of the four testing scenarios above.

To dispel any doubts over the validity of the testing methods you should only use devices that are approved by the Home Office as used by the British Police. It is imperative that a defensible 2 stage testing procedure is adopted.

Both the disposable and electronic devices we recommend are Home Office approved and used by police forces worldwide.

We also provide a 24hour, 365 day, National Collection Service to conduct all types of sample collections, including breath tests, should you require independent experts to do this.

Datasheet Ref:ALC/102/03/05