What type of alcohol presence can lead to misleading test results shortly after drinking?

Mouth alcohol refers to residual alcohol present in the oral cavity, which can occur after consuming alcoholic beverages. This residual alcohol can evaporate and significantly affect the results when an intoxication test is performed soon after drinking. When the Intoxilyzer 9000 conducts the test, it measures the amount of alcohol vapor in the breath. If there is mouth alcohol present, it can lead to an artificially inflated reading, providing a misleading result that does not accurately reflect the individual’s actual blood alcohol concentration.

Other types of alcohol such as digestive alcohol or alcohol from beverages do not typically result in misleading test results in the same way; they represent the alcohol that has been absorbed into the bloodstream and is metabolizing, which is what the Intoxilyzer is designed to measure. Environmental alcohol might be present in certain situations, but it’s not usually a significant factor in breath tests conducted close to the time of consumption. Therefore, mouth alcohol is the key factor that can distort test results immediately after drinking.