More Than a Game: Testing Your Blood Alcohol

Dec. 27, 2009— -- Jackie Furback, a bartender at Gatsby's Bar in New York City, said the last time she used a personal breathalyzer was at a party.

"I know two people that have them," she said. "The only time they've used them is at parties in competition for how drunk they could get."

But beyond drinking games, the devices are increasingly being used in private homes, at workplaces and by individuals who are worried about driving drunk.

Breathalyzers, originally used only by police officers, are now a booming market according to Massachusetts-based WinterGreen Research, which currently values the breathalyzer market at $215.2 million, up from $27.9 million in 2005.

"The technology has gotten cheaper," said Susan Eustis, president and CEO of WinterGreen Research. "We had major breakthroughs in the fuel-cell censors. They're much more reliable."

Less expensive breathalyzers use semiconductor censors rather than the more expensive fuel-cell censors used in most commercial-grade breathalyzers used by law enforcement, and that's where some worry about reliability. Breathalyzers are sold at major retailers including amazon.com and Target for anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars.

ABC News compared two breathalyzers with bar patrons -- one, an inexpensive $15 keychain device, the other a more high-tech model that sold for $50.

The test subject was Jeremy Turnhill, a 280-pound, 6-foot-2 male. After Turnhill drank two beers, the keychain device gave him a reading up to .08, the legal limit for driving. The more expensive model gave him a reading of .05.

Turnhill said he suspects the keychain device, which said "novelty" on the packaging, was just that, and that he thinks the more expensive model was more accurate.

"One of the most important things to consider when you're talking about accuracy is that devices are going to have low precision when they're low quality," said Charles Lee, general manager of AK Solutions, which produces various types of personal breathalyzers.