Ethylglucuronide is a metabolite which is formed in the body following ingestion of ethanol. It is used as a biomarker to test for ethanol use in situations where such use is prohibited, such as by the military or in recovering alcoholic patients. EtG has several advantages due to its specificity for ethanol, slow elimination in urine, and detectability by drug testing of hair which allows detection of ethanol use long after its shorter lasting major metabolites such as acetaldehyde have been eliminated from the body.