Would you believe me if I told you my friend got a DUI from drinking mouthwash?

Question

He drank a bunch of mouthwash last night and got arrested.

Answer 1

I actually know of a girl that used to drink mouth wash so much that she ended up overdosing on it and passed out at home. She went to treatment to get help for alcohol problem. She said that she drank the mouthwash because she did not want people to know she had a drining problem and mouthwash has alcohol in it.

Answer 2

Scope lists alcohol as the second ingredient. (Water is first.) They don't list the actual concentration, but it has to be less than 50%, and it is high.

During the 60s and 70s, some people tried using mouthwash when a cop showed up at an accident, then claiming that they had alcohol on their breath because of the mouthwash. A few in Canada got off, then a judge ruled that the only reason to take mouthwash at an accident scene was to mask alcohol on the breath.

Some alcoholics drink mouthwash because it is easy to get and has a high alcohol content.

Answer 3

Its possible to fail the Breathalyzer from drinking too much mouthwash, but the police would have to put you through the Field sobriety test as well, so i would find it unbelievable that someone would get arrested for a DUI because of mouth wash, unless the cop did improper procedures when he pulled your Friend over, and why would someone drink a bunch of mouthwash for, yuk!

Answer 4

Yup, I've seen many homeless drunks getting drunk on Scope and many other generic mouthwashes. You do know they contain a rather large amount of alcohol don't you? I've read on the bottles that some contain as much as 25% alcohol by volume and I'm sorry to the nice retired police officer but beer only has 3.5% alcohol and people get drunk on it all the time. I know that the cans of beer say 6% but I knew someone that worked in a brewery and they said it only has 3.5%. The mention on the can says it won't go over 6%.

Answer 5

Yes I would believe it, if he drank a case of it.

The mouthwash excuse is an urban legend, created by a prescription mouthwash/antibiotic. The mouthwash is used after dental surgery. It has a sticky compound in it which helps the antibiotic cling to the area that was operated on. However, the small amount of alcohol is absorbed into the mouth tissue, and does not "cling" for hours like the antibiotic does.

Your friend is leaving out some details, and will not fare will in court.

Answer 6

Sure, Listerine is 18%alcohol by volume. Drinking mouthwash is really bad for you because it kills out the probiotics (or good bacteria) in you digestive system, but getting a buzz from mouthwash is totally possable.

Answer 7

Yes I believe it. I have friends that are long-time members of AA, and they have told stories more than once of alcoholics drinking mouthwash because it was the only alcohol they could find.

Answer 8

Yep. It's about 16% alcohol, the same as wine. Lots of folks in the military who are alcoholics keep mouthwash in various places to keep the demons away.

Answer 9

Yes I would -- and I see many people on here who are very out of the loop including an officer.Mouth wash is anywhere from18% alcohol to 80% alcohol. It is a growing problem with alcoholics who want to hide the fact they are drinking and down the stuff like water.It contains many other ingredients that are fatal on the body and we are seeing more and more kidney and liver failure due to mouth wash consumption.Unfortunate.

Answer 10

Of course. He didn't need to drink it, but mouthwash leaves alcohol residue if not rinsed well enough.

By the way, eating several poppy seed bagels or lemon poppy seed cake can give a false drug test positive too...