The guy wearing a lampshade may not be the only one who has had too much to drink New Year's Eve.

A growing number of party hosts Friday will rely on alcohol- sniffing machines -- some masked as keychains -- to see if guests downed too many champagne flutes between versions of Auld Lang Syne.

"We are a drinking society and we are going to drink," said Ken Stoll, whose AlcoholAlert breath tester gives blood alcohol measurements for 50 cents. "People should have the luxury to test themselves before they get behind a wheel."

His coin-operated, 21-pound steel machines were placed in two Rockford bars earlier this year.

They are among dozens of consumer-friendly products for testing blood alcohol levels. Prices range from 99 cents for oral alcohol test strips to up to $440 for a pocket-sized screening instrument.

"It's handy, it's reliable and people can rely on it," Stoll said of the device found in an estimated 8,000 bars in the U.S. Michigan is home to 200 to 300 AlcoholAlert machines, most in metro Detroit, Stoll said.

Among its supporters are Rockford Police Chief David Jones, who saw a need when Michigan changed its drunken driving laws a year ago. Lawmakers lowered the drunken driving standard from 0.10 percent blood alcohol content to 0.08 percent to avoid losing 2 percent of the state's federal funding.

"I was asked how would people know if they were over the legal limit," Jones said. "I frankly didn't have an answer. That brought up the question, 'Is there a way to better inform the patrons of our taverns?' "

After a little investigative work, Jones came across Stoll, an Arizona resident who began marketing AlcoholAlert 14 years ago.

The city bought the machines used at Rogue River Tavern, 4 N. Main St. and The Corner Bar, 31 N. Main St. Proceeds benefit Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., programs in Rockford schools.

"We've heard feedback from bartenders that there has been people who use it and order coffee," Jones said.

Mixed reviews

AlcoholAlert gets mixed reviews at The Corner Bar. "Some say it's been productive and used the right way, and others recall it as an opportunity to see who was blowing higher," restaurant co-owner Andy Tidey said.

Ezra Dubroff, vice president of California-based Breathalyzer.net, which sells several alcohol testing devices on the Internet, said consumer interest accelerates during the holidays.

"The demand has been pretty high, especially as more people become aware these products are available," Dubroff said. "People who go out often or entertain have a need for it."

One of the more popular products is the AlcoMate, a battery- powered tester about the size of a cell phone. "It's ordered by people all over the world," Dubroff said.

Critics of the self-testing devices say they actually may be used in drinking games, with the spoils -- often a miserable hangover -- going to the person who registers the highest.

The Guardian Angel "Personal Alcohol Test" is offered in some grocery and liquor stores, but not at national chains, said Amanda Beihl, president of Colorado-based guardianangel.com. "It's not a determining tool, but a tool to help users make an informed decision about whether to drive," she said of the strips, sold in four-packs for $2.

"The value is only good at the time you did the test," Beihl stressed. "If you chugged five beers and took this test 10 minutes later, the value most likely will be lower than the value you will have a half hour later as the body continues to metabolize alcohol."

"We are a drinking society and we are going to drink," said Ken Stoll, whose AlcoholAlert breath tester gives blood alcohol measurements for 50 cents. "People should have the luxury to test themselves before they get behind a wheel."

"It's handy, it's reliable and people can rely on it," Stoll said of the device found in an estimated 8,000 bars in the U.S. Michigan is home to 200 to 300 AlcoholAlert machines, most in metro Detroit, Stoll said.