The effects of dosed tobacco in evidentiary breath testing using non-drinking subjects

A total of seventeen subjects were administered breath tests with alcohol dosed tobacco to see if there was an interference with the evidentiary breath testing. Fourteen subjects provided one set of two breath samples without the dosed tobacco followed by a set of two breath samples with the dosed tobacco. The other three subjects provided one breath sample without the dosed tobacco and then one breath sample with the dosed tobacco within the same testing sequence. Eight subjects had breath test readings of 0.00g/210L with the dosed tobacco. Mouth alcohol was detected with the dosed tobacco in six of the subjects, and a reading of 0.01g/210L, 0.04g/210L, and 0.05g/210L were found in five of the subjects. If the officer follows the directive of checking the mouth for a foreign substance and following a 15-20min observation/deprivation period, a false positive result will likely be avoided. If the officer does not find tobacco when checking the mouth for a foreign substance, and dosed tobacco is present during the breath test, most likely there would not be a measurable amount of alcohol to report or there would be a mouth alcohol reading from the sample.