This paper introduces the conference's scientific sessions on measuring and screening alcohol and other drugs. Analytical developments in these fields during recent years have undoubtedly greatly influenced legislation and jurisdiction in Germany and other parts of the world. Instead of summarising these developments, the author emphasises the question of whether it is better to test alcohol by measuring blood or breath, which is now very widely discussed in Germany. It is a very controversial issue, which several of the conference papers address. For many decades, German research was concentrated on blood alcohol measuring; in 1955, a blood alcohol count (BAC) limit of 0.15% was recommended as a limit, but it did not pass into law. In 1973, a legal BAC upper limit of 0.08% was passed, after the accumulation of much scientific evidence. There is a clear tendency to lower BAC limits, and its measurement methods are now very precise. However, there have been proposals to introduce Breathalyzer and other tests of breath alcohol into German traffic law. Although progress has been made in the development of such tests, their analysis still has several problems. The combined use of blood and breath tests is also problematic.
Abstract