Man Whose Body Automatically Produces Alcohol Cleared of Drunk-Driving Charges

 

A court has dismissed a drink-driving charge against a man after he was found to be suffering from a rare condition. An unidentified man drinks homemade beer in a bar. Image for illustration purposes only. The 40-year-old Belgian man was reportedly acquitted of all charges after it became apparent that he has auto-brewery syndrome (ABS)  His lawyer, Anse Ghesquiere, revealed that the rare metabolic condition had his client's body continuously producing alcohol. . A report by The Guardian indicated that the defendant, who was not named in line with local judicial custom, did not experience symptoms of inebriation. The man was arrested after police in April 2022 pulled his vehicle over and registered him, giving a breathalyser reading of 0.91 milligrams of alcohol per litre, and again a month later when his breath contained 0.71 milligrams. This was way above the legal limit in Belgium, which is 0.22 milligrams per litre of air exhaled. In 2019, the middle-aged man received a fine and a driving licence suspension for recording above the limit despite insisting he hadn't been drinking. What is auto-brewery syndrome (ABS) According to Lisa Florin, a clinical biologist, people with ABS produced the same type of alcohol as found in alcoholic drinks but generally felt less of its effects.  ABS causes carbohydrates in one's stomach to be fermented, increasing ethanol levels in the blood and resulting in signs of intoxication. People are not born with ABS but can develop it when they already have another intestine-related condition. The patients can present with symptoms consistent with alcohol intoxication, such as slurred speech, stumbling, loss of motor functions, dizziness and belching. Drunk dad calls daughter to pick him up from club Separately, a father noticed that he couldn't drive himself home after partying all night in a local club. At 5:30 a.m., he decided to cut his daughter's sleep short and asked her to take him back home. In the clip, the daughter took an Uber from her apartment to the bar where her dad was. She drove him home in his car and returned to her apartment. 

by  Didacus Malowa