Man Claims Vaping Led to Drink-Driving Conviction

 A man from Ballymena told the court that alcohol in his e-cigarette had caused an alcohol test to show he was over the limit for drink-driving.

Chef Aaron Galbraith, 35, said he was "shocked" after being banned from driving for three years and fined £300 yesterday.

This is believed to be the first case in the UK where a defendant has used "vaping" as a defense against drink-driving.

Outside Ballymena courthouse, Galbraith said he was considering appealing the decision.

When he faced a two-mile journey home from court in Dunluce Park, he insisted to reporters that he had not been drinking, but had been vaping shortly before the breathalyzer test.

Galbraith said that because of a previous drink-driving offense from ten years ago, he would never take the wheel again if he had consumed alcohol.

His defense team claimed it was possible that the e-cigarette had caused him to exceed the limit, leading to the test results.

District Judge Mepere said that while he did not dismiss the evidence provided by expert witness Michael John Walker in court - a private consultant in analytical measurement science - he found no reason to doubt the police who noted Galbraith's unsteadiness and unclear speech at the roadside.

He also noted that the defendant had been vaping at the time.

Judge Mepere said he "tended to think that the likelihood of any e-cigarette causing this nature of extreme is very low," and thus the charge of excess alcohol was proven.

The court was told that police received a report of a collision near Tullymore Road in Ballymena at 12:05 am last November.

They arrived more than ten minutes later to find the defendant standing beside his car. He told an officer he had lost control due to weather conditions.

A police officer said he was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred.

Defense lawyer Stephen stated that Galbraith had failed the initial breath test at the scene before vaping.

He was then taken to Coleraine police station, where his lawyer stated that his client vaped again before the breath test was conducted around 1:55 am. They found a blood alcohol concentration of 65, exceeding the legal limit of 35.

A prosecutor said that before the test, someone asked him if he had inhaled anything in the previous 20 minutes, and he said no. She said he should have told the truth.

Galbraith stated in court that he would use up to 35 milliliters of e-liquid a day but had never felt any adverse effects before.

Mr. Walker told the court that literature shows that two-thirds of e-liquids contain ethanol (alcohol) and said it is "possible" that vaping could lead to misleading high readings on alcohol tests for up to 15 minutes after vaping.

A prosecutor then asked Mr. Walker if he accepted that it was unlikely that the 65 reading was related to vaping.

The scientist accepted that it was unlikely but said there was a "residual possibility, albeit quite low."

After the hearing, Galbraith said he felt "shocked" by the outcome.

"The vape put me over the limit, it gave a false reading on the alcohol test," he insisted.

He said the incident was caused by it being a wet night and the car had "just skidded out."

Galbraith continues to vape. "It's a habit or a vice, I don't want to go back to cigarettes," he said.