
There are myths surrounding every type of drug and alcohol testing available. Aside from the alcohol hair testing or drug follicle hair testing, urine and breathalyzer tests abound with ways people think they can fool the results. Let’s see if you’ve heard of any of these myths.
Sucking on Pennies lowers your blood alcohol level
False. Eating or sucking on nickels, mints, garlic, peanuts, curry powder or vitamin C tablets won’t do the trick either. It seems this myth is one that many people talk about but never have personally tried. Do you know someone to have tried this and said from personal experience that is hasn’t worked? There is no scientific basis for this claim and no chemical reaction takes place to change BAC results when you suck on a penny,
Alcohol on the breath is a reliable sign of alcohol consumption
False. If you were at a party and consumed a non-alcoholic beer your breath would actually smell the same as your friend’s who drank an alcoholic beer. Further, you could be considered intoxicated even if you have been drinking alcohol free drinks. The reason for this is because the body produces its own supply of alcohol naturalyl on a daily basis. We all have it in our bodies naturally and some people simply produce enough to become intoxicated.
Poppy-seed muffins can alter drug testing results
Well, this is actually true. However, while the opiates from a poppy seed muffin may show up just a few hours later in a urine analysis, hair analysis can distinguish between opiate use and regular poppy seed ingestion. Plus, the federal detection limits have been raised and are beyond the range of a muffin or two. You’d have to consume a lot more than two muffins a day for this to seriously alter any drug tests.
You can stop using drugs a few days before the test and still pass
There are many discrepancies out there over how many days or weeks it would take to fully get a drug out of the system. Chances are if you drink a lot of water in the hopes of getting drugs out of your system your test will come back diluted and you’ll need to take it again. It’s just not worth it! Plus, if you are involved in a random drug pool you will not know when your name will be pulled out of the hat for your next drug test. That’s the point. Instead of taking the risk, just stay off drugs. It’s a safe and easy way to pass the test.
There are many more myths, rumors and stories surrounding how to pass drug and alcohol tests. However, researchers and scientists are developing tests that are becoming more and more sophisticated thus eliminating error and the ability of human intervention in the results. Most of these myths or rumors we’ve heard but probably none of us have tested them to see if they are true – well, I’m sure myth busters has checked out a few of these, but none of my friends have. Before staking anything on a rumor look into the facts and scientific evidence surrounding it to determine where the truth really lies. Drug and alcohol testing are a common practice in many workplaces – be ready to pass your next test.
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Uncovering The Myths Surrounding Drug And Alcohol Testing
Etg Alcohol Testing and Its Unreliability

Drug testing laboratories use a common method of EtG Alcohol Testing to test for alcohol consumption. However, studies now show that this test doesn’t really differentiate well between consumption and exposure to relatively small amounts of alcohol. They may even be so sensitive as to pick up alcohol is many household or personal items, such as mouthwash or cold medicine. has been a difficult test to perfect as scientists are looking for the perfect way to confirm if the presence of alcohol is in the urine.
The EtG test is known as a biomarker tests that detects the level or presence of ethyl gucuronide in urine samples. Generally this test is good for detecting if there is any alcohol in someone’s system that is not legally eligible to drink at all. However, they may cause a false positive for those that are legally eligible to drink and may have had some alcohol but not very much. This is where the difficulty lies. Studies found that while many household products contain alcohol and will show up the test, age and ethnicity will also play a determining factor.
So, what actually happens to your body when you drink alcohol? When you take a drink of alcohol the liquid seeps into the stomach and intestines and then into the bloodstream. From here it ends up in the liver. The liver removes the toxins. Since the liver is the first organ that the blood from the stomach and intestines enters before circulating throughout the body, it will have the highest concentration of the alcohol. This is exactly why the liver is prone to such damaging effects. Enzymes in the liver break it down either into water or carbon dioxide and then pass it through the lungs or urine. Each individual will go through this process as varying rates and each person will feel the effects of the alcohol differently.
Courts have rules that while the EtG test may have its uses it cannot be used as a tool to determine alcohol consumption. However, it can be used to possibly dig a little deeper into an issue or as one tool of many used in an investigation. More in-depth blood alcohol test, urine tests or hair alcohol testing.
It seems that more and more companies, high schools, and families are utilizing these types of tests to keep people honest and on task. Since so many tests exist, each situation needs to be looked at carefully to determine which type of test would be the most useful. While these tests do have their place and usefulness in society, we need to be careful on the fact that sometimes we may encounter false positives. This could be extremely detrimental if the case is a serious one and reliability is of the utmost importance. It seems that random drug and alcohol testing and becoming a common part of our society. We will probably all experience these tests at some point in our lives. We need to all know that our tests are going to be reported accurately.
Will Government Programs Require Drug Testing?

Urine alcohol testing is happening in schools. Drug follicle hair testing is happening in the workplace. Testing for both drugs and alcohol are becoming more and more commonplace in society with varying levels of severity. Now, officials in many states are lobbying to make drug testing a requirement before people can go on welfare or unemployment. In a time when most companies are trying to cut any and all costs possible, the government too is trying to find ways that they can make sure benefits are being used in an appropriate manner and are tax dollars are being spent wisely.
The argument for the new drug tests is that people need to spend their money wisely and they may need to be taught this by being unable to get handouts or help from the government. By performing drug tests before people can get these government assistance programs, they are hoping to stimulate health and more solid financial choices for people. The problem some say is that many people won’t ask for help and this will increase already desperate situations. At times, these people that are being denied may need the money the most.
One fact is that these programs are created for people who need help. However, these programs are also created to assist people in getting out of desperate or unfortunate situations. If people are squandering their health and money on illegal substances, then perhaps these aren’t the appropriate programs to get them help. The fact remains that many jobs require drug testing so why not impose it on these programs as well.
Right now we probably all know someone out of work or relying on government programs when they would otherwise not have asked for help. Would drug testing measures slow down an already slow process. In the state of Washington the wait time for issue resolutions is 6-8 weeks. That is a long time to wait for benefits resolution when unemployment money is paying for the mortgage and electricity. Drug testing may slow down these systems as the wait time for results may be significant with the volume of testing that would need to be done.
Lawmakers are trying to create a system to help people. However the balance comes by creating rules so that we aren’t simply enabling people to remain on welfare or unemployment without a true purpose. The unfortunate reality is that people will always abuse the system. Imposing tests like this on people might make them start to understand the true use of the system and control those people that are trying to abuse the system.
There is a struggle for balance with any government assistance program. Would drug testing solve all our problems? Probably not – but it might be a way to limit those that are abusing the program and using it for ways other than what they are intended. We have both drug and alcohol testing happening across society in schools and for employment. It should not surprise us that it would spread to areas in the government as well. With tax dollars funding these programs we deserve to make sure that they are being spent wisely and given to true people in need. This may be just one step on a journey to make programs more controlled. However, in the end, hopefully it will benefit those taking advantage of the programs and those whose taxes fund them.



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