The popular Alcohol Tester, which lights up if the user blows more than a .08-percent blood-alcohol level, is now being sold in Canada; company officials have retracted a claim that the device is endorsed by MADD Canada.

"What responsible retailers should be saying ... is not to drink up to the legal limit," said MADD Canada spokesperson Andrew Murie. "There should be a total separation of drinking from driving. They should be promoting safe alternatives that don't involve that dangerous game of drinking up to the limit."

Pocket testers "can really give people a false sense of sobriety," said Vancouver police spokesperson Tim Fanning, who said testing devices sold for a few dollars at Wal-Mart and elsewhere -- including at some bars -- may not be very accurate. "The instruments police use cost about $1,000," Fanning said. "They're calibrated and tested every two weeks to make sure they are working. People who use them have to be trained in administering the test. That's a huge difference from buying something for $20. You're never going to know if it works properly or not."

Packaging for the Alcohol Tester, marketed by U.S.-based Resource Management International, notes that the device is not totally accurate and that results may not match tests conducted by police. Steve Schroeppel, a company spokesperson, said that, if used property, the Alcohol Tester should be at least 90 percent accurate.

"Let's say you take it to a party or a bar and experiment with it, you want to see how you're doing with your alcohol, everyone wants to try it," said Schroeppel. "If there's any way out there of saving lives ... people realizing they can't drive, that's a good thing."

The device is currently being submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.

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