Lick Before You Drive? Saliva Strips Test Alcohol Levels in Two Minutes

In this age of hyper hygiene awareness, breathalyser producers are faced with the challenge of making their products safe to use and not facilitate viral infections. So, how about a self-testing method that you don’t have to blow into and share your saliva droplets with the world, but instead involves…licking?

Recently, visitors to the Soltice festival in Finland were required to wear two wristbands—one to gain access and another a “lickalyzer” that can detect traces of alcohol. The merry-makers could test their blood alcohol concentration any time by just passing their tongue over the strip.

The Finnish company, Promilless, behind the technology offers saliva strips that tests different alcohol levels, depending on the limit that is allowed in whatever situation the person is in: 0.5 per mille, 0.2% per mille or 0.0% for when absolute zero tolerance is required.

According to their website, “Printed intelligence can be used to produce smart paper with biosensors, electronic sensors, other electronic components or even complete electronic devices. Smart paper enables the development of completely new types of products and services.”

SAVE ON HIGH OCTANE FUEL WITH X-1R OCTANE BOOSTER:

Besides monitoring your drinking, the strips could very well be the next step in drink driving deterrent. The strips are easy enough to slip into your pocket as you head for a night out, and easy and relatively discreet to use. You might be guilty of this too, but many individuals do not feel drunk after consuming “only a few” drinks, even though they are probably more impulsive and experience delayed reaction behind the wheel, without even realising it.

With the strips, they could easily just do a lick test before they take to the road and if they do not “pass”, simply wait awhile and lick again.