If I get stopped by the police while driving and asked to do a routine breathalyzer test, I’m concerned that it may show a ‘false positive’, as breathalyzers may not distinguish between alcohol and ketones in the breath.
Does anyone have any advice on this front? I live in the UK, and I’m planning on driving in France in August.
My first thought is demand a blood test but, I am in the US so not sure if you can in other countries… I would think so. Anything analyzing air is not going to be as accurate as blood.
The type of sensor in the meter law enforcement uses (fuel cell or infrared spectroscopy) is different from the cheap breathalyzers which can be triggered by breath ketones (semiconductor).
https://www.expertlawfirm.com/ketogenic-diets-diabetes-breathalyzer-false-positive/
[edit]
Apparently isopropyl alcohol can be generated in severe cases like DKA, which isn’t the same as the breath ketones a normal healthy person makes.
someone suffering from DKA might not only “blow” a high BAC on a DUI breath test, he or she might appear drunk. Thus a law enforcement officer who is not a diabetes expert could easily arrest such a person for … Driving under the influence of alcohol… https://www.shouselaw.com/ketosis.html
Of course, this is based on U.S. breathalyzer testing but are they different in the U.K.?
Yeah, I don’t know. I think I’m right in saying that if you’re over the limit on the roadside test, they make you go to the police station to give another sample on a better machine. I imagine the roadside ones are less sophisticated than the station-based ones. Either way, your information is reassuring, so thank you.
In France, one is legally obliged to keep some type of breathalyzer in the car at all times. I wouldn’t expect them to work very well on someone in nutritional ketosis!
Whaaaaat? I had no idea.
Even if you make it past the second phase of testing it sounds like a huge hassle.