Alcohol monitoring provides accountability and support for people in recovery from substance use disorder, helping them remain alcohol-free. Not all types of alcohol monitoring devices are equally effective, though.
Breath tests, or breathalyzers, only capture one moment in time—and that snapshot often misses the bigger picture. An alcohol monitoring bracelet, on the other hand, offers continuous, touch-based detection that supports people at every stage of recovery—no breath required.
Breathalyzers vs. Alcohol Monitoring Bracelets: What’s the difference?
When it comes to alcohol monitoring, accuracy and consistency can be the difference between recovery setbacks and success. Here’s a breakdown of how they’re different.
Breathalyzers:
- Capture just a moment in time.
- Provide room for manipulation (skipping tests, drinking around tests, or inaccurately reporting test results on paper log sheets).
- Require active participation each time.
- Create gaps in accountability between tests.
- Make maintaining a hygienic environment challenging, especially during cold and flu season.
Alcohol Monitoring Bracelets:
- Provide continuous detection and real-time alcohol insights.
- Track automatically, with no action required.
- Empower users and third parties with continuous support, including by enabling early intervention.
- Maintain hygienic environments by eliminating the need for breath.
Bottom line: Breathalyzers show if someone is alcohol-free right now; wristbands easily and hygienically show the full, accurate story over time and empower users and third parties to intervene early if someone takes a drink.
By shifting from occasional checks to ongoing monitoring, users, behavioral health providers and families can gain better insights and improve long-term outcomes.
How do Alcohol Monitoring Bracelets Work?
SOBRsure™ is the first commercially available alcohol monitoring bracelet. It looks like a fitness band and is easy to use, allowing people to prove they’re alcohol-free just by wearing it. All they have to do is download the app, sync it with the wristband, and add third parties.
The technology in SOBRsafe™ alcohol sensor detects the presence of alcohol through sweat (when alcohol is consumed, a portion is secreted through the skin). Unlike breath tests, which can be inconvenient, unhygienic, and embarrassing, touch-based detection allows people to confirm the absence of alcohol through contact with the skin.
How SOBRsure Supports Recovery Through Continuous Alcohol Monitoring
Our alcohol monitoring bracelet offers the support and accountability that are often missing as people attempt to remain alcohol-free. As the wearer goes through daily life, the wristband:
- Tests for alcohol every 15 seconds with no action necessary.
- Provides a sleek, water-resistant design that is discreet and allows easy, everyday wear with dignity.
The SOBRsure app provides:
- Real-time insights into alcohol status.
- Alcohol and band removal alerts to third parties.
- Historical reporting in an easy-to-use calendar view.
Building Trust, Fostering Independence and Honoring Dignity
Breath tests require scheduled appointments and can carry stigmas of shame and punishment. Wearing an alcohol monitoring bracelet that resembles a fitness band makes users more independent and enables them to build trust while feeling more dignified, according to TV personality Jason Wahler, a SOBRsure user.
“Imagine independence from scheduled or administered tests, he says. “Just attach SOBRsure and live life.” In his role as a recovery advocate, Wahler recommends SOBRsure over breath tests or any other kind of monitoring. “SOBRsure is ideal for accountability in recovery, building co-parenting trust and combating drunk driving,” he says. “A parent, a therapist, a sponsor, an attorney—they can virtually verify that at any time the wearer is alcohol-free.”
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