Industry News & Updates

As temperatures warm, it’s important to remember the proper management and transportation requirements for heat-sensitive materials. This is particularly vital when handling and moving consumables for our Druglizer LE5 device. Utilising competitive lateral flow immunoassay methodology, the test strips within the cartridges are sensitive to temperature and require specific conditions for transportation, storage, and usage.

Passive testing for alcohol is a process where a sample of a subject’s breath is analysed without the use of a mouthpiece or any physical contact. It commonly involves a subject exhaling/blowing/talking within close proximity of an alcohol breath testing device.

In workplace testing, using different methods for screening and confirmation—like oral fluid for one and urine for the other—can lead to inconsistent results and confusion. Aligning both tests with the same method ensures accurate detection windows, reduces discrepancies, and strengthens the integrity of your testing program.

Workplace psychosocial hazards are related to the psychological and social conditions of the workplace rather than just the physical conditions. These include stress, fatigue, bullying, violence, aggression, harassment and burnout; all of which can be harmful to the health of employees and their wellbeing. There are also risk factors (ie the misuse of alcohol or other drugs) that can increase the likelihood of these hazards.

Currently organisations are facing a gap between Australia’s occupational health and safety laws and the use of medicinal cannabis. In January 2024, the number of Australians who were prescribed medicinal cannabis products was approx one million patients, according to Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

In terms of compliance to a standard, ie AS/NZS 4760:2019 (which relates to the procedure for specimen collection and the detection of drugs in oral fluid) and AS3547:2019 (for electronic breath alcohol testing devices), there is a significant distinction between certification and verification.

The festive season can be a time to gather amongst family and friends and enjoy a few alcoholic beverages. It can also be very easy to over-indulge with flow on effects. For some, alcohol provides enjoyment and stress relief however for others, particularly around the holidays it can present a challange in avoiding consuming alcohol in quantities that put their health at risk.

Employers and employees have responsibilities in regard to fitness for work with a general duty of care to maintain a safe and healthy workplace and protect people at work from hazards. An employee needs to ensure their own health and safety at work.

Victorian medicinal cannabis users will no longer automatically lose their licence if caught driving with traces of the drug in their system. Instead, magistrates have been given the power to exercise sentencing discretion for drivers who test positive for the cannabinoid chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), if they hold a valid prescription for medicinal cannabis and are unimpaired while driving.

Data collection is playing a greater part in business today allowing companies to be more informed to make better decisions. Focusing spend in increasing efficiencies particularly with the collection of accurate data to strengthen integrity and confidentiality in alcohol and drug workplace testing is critical.

For breathalyser devices purchased prior to March 2021 and designed to the Australian standard current at that time (AS3547:1997), it may be worthwhile considering the benefits of the revised standard to see if it will improve your testing efficiences. Particularly with our new bundles recently released offering significant savings for our HH4 device.

In workplace drug testing, vaping can present unique challenges as it may impact the detection and interpretation of results, particularly in oral fluid testing. Vaping can introduce drug residues into the mouth and oral fluids, especially if the individual has recently vaped substances containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (from cannabis products) or synthetic cannabinoids, which can be detected in oral fluid.