Blog
Paternity Testing – What are your options?
What is a paternity test? A paternity test is an accurate method to establish the biological father of a child. The procedure involves collecting a DNA sample from the child and the alleged father, in some cases a sample from the biological mother is also collected. A standard paternity test... Read More
Alcohol and the Risk of Cancer
According to Cancer Research UK alcohol increases the risk of 7 types of cancer, including breast, mouth, and bowel cancers. Not everyone who drinks alcohol will get cancer, however, research has shown that certain types of cancer are more commonly found in people who drink more alcohol than others... Read More
25K Calls Reporting Drug & Alcohol Abuse Around Children
The NSPCC released figures on Monday, 11th February that show the extent of children’s exposure to alcohol and drug abuse in the UK. The figures show that there have been over 25,000 calls made to their helpline reporting drug and alcohol abuse near children over the past 3 years. On average,... Read More
Indirect Markers of Alcohol Consumption: LFT, CDT, and MCV
The majority of blood alcohol testing conducted is based on indirect markers, and these tests look at how the body and its organs are functioning. They check to see if they are functioning within normal ranges or outside the normal range. The indirect markers that are used for testing are often... Read More
What are New Psychoactive Substances and ‘legal highs’?
New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) contain substances that produce similar effects to drugs like cocaine, cannabis, and ecstasy. They are commonly referred to as ‘legal highs’, which gives a false impression about how dangerous they can be. Since the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances... Read More
Dry January: Tips on how to avoid alcohol and the benefits
What is Dry January? Dry January is a campaign by Alcohol Concern that challenges people to give up drinking alcohol throughout January. The campaign has grown in popularity since it first began in 2012, and was given a boost in 2015 when Public Health England got involved. Alcohol Concern say... Read More
The Rise of Spice in UK Prisons
Over the past 5 years the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), also known as ‘legal highs’, has become a growing problem in UK prisons. Research has found that the synthetic cannabinoid ‘Spice’ was seized 737 times in prisons in 2014, a significant jump from just 15 in 2010. The growth in... Read More
Thousands of Drivers Caught Over the Alcohol Limit
According to the DVLA, over 8,000 drivers have been caught driving whilst over the limit on two occasions in the space of 5 years (2011 – 2015). Between 2011 and 2015 over 200,000 people were given DR10 endorsements on their license for driving or attempting to drive whilst over the legal... Read More
Different types of hair used for alcohol testing
Using head hair to test for alcohol abuse is one of the most accurate and established methods available. However, we advise that hair testing should never be used in isolation and should be combined with other testing methods, such as blood testing. When there is a combination of testing methods,... Read More
Is consent needed for a paternity test?
Each person who is taking part in the paternity test must give written consent to allow their DNA sample to be taken and tested. To achieve the most accurate and conclusive result, the biological mother should also be tested rather than only testing the father and child. If the child is under 16... Read More
We Do The Best Nails In Town
6th December 2016 Hair testing has been used as common practice for years in relation to drug and alcohol testing. Many don’t realise that there could be a more convenient and reliable alternative in nail testing. Does your client have minimal body hair and need to provide a significant... Read More
The Risks of Alcohol During Pregnancy
Is drinking alcohol safe whilst pregnant? The UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines recommend to not consume any alcohol if you are pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, in order to keep the risks to your baby at a minimum. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink whilst pregnant,... Read More