2/18/2004
Scientists are developing a new series of hair, blood, and urine tests that, when used together, could reveal a person's drinking behavior, including how much they drink and the last time they had a drink, the BBC reported Feb. 12.
The tests can detect chemicals that drinking produces. Although alcohol disappears from the body within hours, the chemicals, called fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and phospatidyl ethanol (PEth), remain much longer.
Generally, FAEEs remain in the blood between 12 to 18 hours after a person has a drink and are eventually stored in the hair. PEth remains in the blood up to three weeks after a person has consumed alcohol.
According to researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the new set of tests could show how much a person drank over the past days, weeks, or even months.
The tests are being considered for use by employers, law enforcement, and doctors.
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0%2C1854%2C569217%2C00.html