Campaigners' fury at legal pill Alcopal which lets you drink five pints of beer and still pass a breathalyser test



Legal pill produces a breathalyser reading up to nine times lower than it should be

280 people die on average each year in the UK as a result of drink driving

Retailer says: 'Everyone does it - there’s a car park in every pub you go to'



'There's a car park in every pub you go to': Arthur Kibble stands by his product

Campaigners are calling for pills which allow drivers to drink five pints of beer and still pass a breathalyser test to be banned after a businessman began selling them in the UK.

Arthur Kibble, 64, boasts the 'Alcopal' capsules allow motorists to drink until they are over the limit, yet still give a breath test which is nine times lower than it should be.

Kibble, from Birmingham, is selling the pills online and said he is not advocating drinking and driving.

The pills have already been withdrawn in America but they are legally on sale in Britain - where 280 people die on average each year as a result of drink driving.

Last week The Department of Transport revealed that the number of drink driving deaths had risen by 12 per cent - the first increase in over a decade.



The pills, which are taken before and after a drinking session, are said to prevent alcohol being absorbed through the stomach and into the bloodstream.

Kibble sells the pills online via his website and said he had tested them himself on Home Office-approved Draegar Breathalyser machines.

Today, the defiant businessman denied that he was encouraging motorists to drink and drive, and said the pills were completely safe.

He said: 'The pills work by preventing the absorption of alcohol from the inner lining of the stomach and the intestine into the bloodstream.

'All of the ingredients are natural, there’s no prescription stuff in there.'

Kibble has tested the pulls himself and says they reduce a breathalyser reading nine times lower than expected

HOW DO THE PILLS WORK?

Mr Kibble claims the tablets prevent the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream, and that scientists then noted this affected blood alcohol readings taken in a breath test. The Mail Online has been able to locate the source of the tablets, but Kibble insists they are well-known in the pharmaceutical business. He said: 'They were tried initially in the USA but were withdrawn after pressure on the drug firms. 'The pharmaceutical industry spent millions on the research but decided not to go ahead with mass production.' If the tablets do stop alcohol being absorbed, then this will reduce the effect of alcohol on the user. Kibble added that a pharmacist involved in the research had continued to produce the tablets, said to be made of herbal extract and carbon, for sale in the UK.

He added: 'I am not advocating that motorists get blind drunk and then try to drive, but it does help you mentally.

'Because it prevents the uptake of alcohol and gives some protection to your liver and kidneys you’re more in control.



'I have had my lawyers check them out and they are perfectly safe and legal, otherwise I would not be selling them.



'They are targeted at anyone, especially those people who have two pints and are then banned for 12 months.



'What about bus drivers and taxi drivers who want to have a pint before work?



'Everyone does it, there’s a car park in every pub you go to.'

The legal limit for driving is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

Mr Kibble claims the Alcopal pills can reduce this reading to just 4mcg per 100ml.

His website says: 'Going out to celebrate or just having a good time. Be careful if your (sic) driving. Always take ALCO-PAL with you.

'Take the recommended dose and it will make all the difference if your breathalysed ALCO-PAL helps to reduce the alcohol breath you expel from your lungs.'

Next to the product description is a link where shoppers can buy a pack of the red capsules - produced in India - for just £20 plus £3 postage.

Aftermath: The remains of a Citroen Saxo involved in a 70mph crash by a drink-driver in the West Midlands in June 2011. The crash killed the 40-year-old driver and three other passengers

