What are the alternatives to urine testing?
Because of health and safety issues the sampling of blood from individuals for workplace testing is not recommended. Alcohol – breathtesting is an excellent alternative for alcohol detection. The technology for breathtesting is well established and the principles are enshrined within drink-drive legislation. Drugs – saliva (oral fluid) testing represents an attractive alternative to urine drug testing: • saliva drug concentrations can be related to plasma free-drug concentrations, and hence to the pharmacological effects of drugs. The presence of drugs in saliva therefore is more likely to correlate with effect or impairment. Studies of drugged drivers have generally shown a high correlation between saliva drug levels and observed impairment. • Saliva collection is non-invasive and is likely to be more acceptable than urine. Collection is easy and requires minimal facilities to carry it out. It is also faster. • The sampling of saliva is always in sight of the collector; it is more dif
