Breath Alcohol Units of Measurement

BACtrack breathalyzers are designed with global customers in mind offering options that display readings in %BAC, mg/L, and Permille ‰

BACtrack C6 breathalyzer

BACtrack Breathalyzer Units of Measurement

  • %BAC

    Percentage of Blood Alcohol

    Content This is a common unit used to express the amount of alcohol in one's bloodstream. For example, a BAC of 0.08% means there are 0.08 grams of alcohol for every 100 milliliters of blood.

  • mg/L

    Milligrams of alcohol per litre of breath

    This unit is widely used across most of Europe, and other countries like South Africa, Taiwan, and Japan. A typical reading might be 350 mg/L.

  • Permille ‰

    Milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood

    This unit represents the number of milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood. It's used in various European countries and is similar to %BAC but is a factor of ten larger.

BACtrack breathalyzers that support EU units of measurement

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Conversion Chart with Drink-Driving Limits

Description %BAC mg/L Permille ‰
High BAC Level 0.12 2520 1.2
US Legal Limit 0.08 1680 0.8
UK Legal Limit 0.08 1680 0.8
Low BAC Level 0.05 1050 0.5
Very Low BAC Level 0.04 840 0.4
EU Legal Limit 0.02 420 0.2
Zero Tolerance 0 0 0

The table provides a comparison of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and their equivalent values in two other units of measurement: milligrams per liter (mg/L) of breath alcohol and permille (‰) of alcohol per liter of blood.

Please note that the legal limits can vary within countries, especially in the EU where member states may have different regulations. The "EU Legal Limit" mentioned here is a general reference and may not apply to all EU countries. Always check local laws for the most accurate and current information.