Traffic cop has no sense of humor about bad breath

When pulled over for speeding or having a busted tail light, some people try explaining themselves, sweet-talking the police officer or even squeezing out a few crocodile tears. However, those with bad breath might want to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to keep their mouth shut, or at least use a specialty breath freshener, since Al Anba reports that a traffic cop recently fined a citizen for having halitosis.

Those who are worried about the state of their oral odor may be encouraged to know that the incident took place in Kuwait. Another police officer expressed his confusion about how to handle the resulting traffic ticket.

"Will the motorist be fined? If so, on what ground and how much will he have to pay? If his car is impounded, will it remain in the police garage for two months? Is there a possibility to reach a reconciliation deal?" he pondered, quoted by the news source.

If you think something like this could never happen in the U.S., consider that the prevalence of bad breath is roughly the same here as it is there. One-quarter of Americans have bad breath. And in the Middle East? A study appearing in the Journal of Dentistry found that 23 percent of Kuwaitis had oral odor.