Will eating a lot of boozy Christmas food affect your breathalyser test results?

Will eating a lot of boozy Christmas food affect your breathalyser test results?

You’re likely to be welcomed with an eggnog when you arrive at a Christmas party. You accept it because it’s just one drink and these things are simply a concoction of egg yolks, sugar and just a smidge of brandy – practically a dessert, right? 

But wait, you haven’t factored in that slice of bourbon-soaked fruit cake, rum-laced tiramisu, Bailey-infused trifle and rum truffles yet. Yes, they are boozy but they are also small bites, you figured. Surely, not everything alcoholic adds up and affects your breathalyser test results if you get behind the wheel?

You might be right, said doctors such as National University Hospital’s Dr Lee Guan Huei, who is the head and a senior consultant with Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine. “The amount of alcohol in such alcohol-infused treats is very small and would not add much to breathalyser results or impair driving.”