Does kissing transmit alcohol?

My wife said that after drinking, her breath reeked of alcohol, and that kissing transferred the alcohol, and the breathalyzer still blew. I have never encountered such a case, is that right? (Son, 33 years old, Hanoi)

Reply:

The amount of alcohol in the body is mainly excreted through urine. The remaining part is excreted through sweat and breath. When a person drinks alcohol, there will be alcohol in their breath and saliva, especially the reflux fluid from the stomach to the mouth has a relatively high alcohol concentration.

Therefore, when kissing a drunk person for a relatively long time, you can be "infected" with alcohol concentration. At this time, your mouth is also contaminated with a certain amount of alcohol from the saliva or refluxed gastric juice of the drunk person. However, the amount of alcohol entering the mouth and respiratory tract of the person you kiss has a low concentration, then is quickly metabolized in the liver, so it cannot cause intoxication.

Therefore, when kissing someone who has just drunk alcohol, it is still possible to "catch" the alcohol concentration, but it is very rare.

In China, a woman was found to have a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit while driving on June 6, 2020. However, the woman claimed she had not been drinking. The blood alcohol test result was zero. She explained that she had previously driven to pick up her drunk boyfriend and had kissed him before getting in the car, a kiss that could have lasted for a long time.

Based on the blood test results and the woman’s explanation, the traffic police believe that the two may have kissed for a long time, causing the alcohol concentration in the woman’s mouth to exceed the standard. To date, the world has not recorded any similar cases.

In Vietnam, by law, drivers of cars, motorbikes, and motorcycles are not allowed to have alcohol in their blood while driving. Therefore, when kissing a drunk person, you can blow alcohol on them. In this case, you can request a blood test for more accurate results.

We cannot calculate exactly how long after consuming alcoholic beverages the alcohol in the breath and blood will be gone. On average, the body eliminates 15 milligrams of alcohol from the blood every hour. The more alcohol in a drink, the longer it takes for the body to metabolize it.

You can calculate your blood alcohol level and the time it takes to bring your blood alcohol level back to 0 after you finish drinking, using the table below.

Experts recommend that men should not drink more than two units of alcohol a day, women no more than one unit of alcohol a day and no more than five days a week. One unit of alcohol is equivalent to 10 grams of pure alcohol contained in a drink, which is about three-quarters of a 330 ml bottle or can of beer (5%) or a 330 ml glass of draft beer or a 100 ml glass of wine (13.5%) or a 30 ml shot of spirits (40%).

Doctor Tran Van Phuc
Xanh Pon Hospital

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