International experts in hair analysis gathered in Rome from 8th to 10th February 2019 in a meeting organised by the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) to discuss the revision of the consensus on biomarkers of alcohol consumption. Based on the concentration in the hair of certain biomarkers, this consensus establishes the reference values that allow to evaluate the alcohol consumption of an individual.

The consensus on the biomarkers of alcohol consumption in hair, periodically reviewed by specialists in the field and updated according to newly published scientific studies, supports forensic authorities in most countries in the world for detecting excessive consumption of alcohol or, conversely, demonstrate an absence of consumption. This information is mainly used in contexts where the consumption of alcohol is of primary importance, such as the withdrawal or the restitution of the driving license or in family law cases (divorce, childcare …).

Twenty toxicologists, members of the SoHT, from Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg, met on this occasion.

Luxembourg, represented by Dr sc. Michel Yegles from the forensic toxicologie service of the LNS forensic medicine department and Dr Brice Appenzeller from the Human Biomonitoring Research Unit in the Department of Population Heath at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, has been active in this field for over ten years and is one of the pioneers of hair analysis for biomarker research related to alcohol consumption.

The SoHT, founded in 1995, brings together international specialists in hair analysis and comprises almost 400 members from 38 countries on 5 continents.