Alcohol testing is a must

Covid- 19 may seem to be waning, restrictions are easing, the ban on alcohol sales has been lifted, but is the use of alcohol breathalysers safe and what approach should the authorities and companies adopt to alcohol testing? This is a question that poses itself to businesses, industry, mining, the traffic authorities and to individuals, especially in recent times. Just as alcohol is an integral part of life, so should alcohol testing by means of a breathalyser become and remain an indispensable means of monitoring and encouraging responsible use of alcohol in society. The legal alcohol limit in Botswana is 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100ml of blood. This is a fairly generous allowance and equates to approximately two to three 350ml beers. In many other countries around the world, the limit is considerably lower. When we are at work, we have an expectation that our fellow employees, who may be operating dangerous machinery or driving us to sites, are 100percent sober and at the very least functioning below the recognised level of intoxication, for obvious reasons of safety.

“Our view is that a policy- driven, zero tolerance approach to alcohol should be implemented in all workplaces and fleets” said Angus Macarthur, MD of the newly established Alcohol Breathalyzers Botswana ( Pty) Ltd. Similarly, as each of us get into our cars, we expect that our fellow motorists will be sober and driving at an alcohol level below the legal limit. Our loved ones share this expectation.

Although alcohol was recently banned, it was still available through illegal channels. Thus, the option to dispense with testing can never arise: where there is alcohol, there must be testing. The responsibility for safety rests on the employer in the workplace to take reasonable and practical steps to ensure that all employees are not intoxicated. We equally depend on the police and traffic authorities to apply the law in the interests of safety and to carry out the necessary tests as a matter of routine. The traffic authorities and the police share this responsibility on behalf of the general motoring public.

Methods for the safe testing of breath alcohol levels by means of an alcohol breathalyzer have been developed. According to Macarthur, the latest available technology enables Covidsafe testing to be carried out using no- contact breathalysers designed specifically for the purpose - for example the breathalyzers iBlow10 and Entrance Breathalyzers System. The use of paper straws and non- alcohol steri- wipes helps to achieve the objective. The effects of alcohol abuse on society are ever- increasingly evident. Families and lives can be destroyed by just a moment’s indiscretion. Great burdens are cast upon the State as a result of increased medical costs. Productive time is lost on the factory floor, in businesses and in the mines. The call for the safe use of alcohol is an imperative. As alcohol testing becomes more and more common place, so individuals become more aware and more knowledgeable about the effects of alcohol consumption. They learn to understand their limits better and they become more familiar with the time it takes for alcohol levels to reduce to safer limits. The challenge that lies ahead is to integrate alcohol testing with alcohol consumption with a safety- driven approach. These are the two sides of the scale which, when weight is applied to both, will result in the correct balance that society needs.