Effects of vaping E-juices with and without alcohol on the accuracy of the Alco-Sensor FST® approved screening device

Abstract Approved screening devices (ASDs) are valuable roadside tools for police officers to determine if an individual has been driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over the prescribed limits and to form reasonable and probable grounds for further investigation. ASDs are expected to produce accurate and reliable results that are free from interference by exogenous substances other than the individual’s BAC. Nevertheless, electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) vapours have the potential to interfere with the accuracy of ASDs as certain E-juices, the liquid that is aerosolized to generate the vapour, have been found to contain alcohol. In this study, five alcohol-free participants were tested with the Alco-Sensor FST® after inhaling vapours from alcohol-free and alcohol-positive E-juices. Subsequently, the five participants were dosed with alcohol, and the testing was repeated. Although vaping alcohol-positive E-juice did falsely increase the apparent BAC of both alcohol-free and alcohol-positive participants, the effects completely subsided within 3 min. The recommended standard operating procedure for ASDs used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) requires a 5-min wait time following the end of smoking prior to provision of a sample by a subject. This wait period is more than sufficient for any effects from the E-cigarette vapour containing alcohol to be eliminated, thus refuting any concerns of E-cigarette vapour falsely elevating an individual’s existing BAC.