Excerpted from "A Year of Health Hints"
365 Practical Ways to Feel Better and Live Longer
The following tables, The Effects of Alcohol, and Know Your
Limit, show approximately how much you have to drink to reach
various levels of blood alcohol content (BAC), and what effect
alcohol has at those levels.
These are only rough guides, however. How much you drink isn't
the only factor that determines how intoxicated you become. Other
factors explain why one person seems to be able to "hold
their liquor" (or beer or wine) while another can't. How
tipsy you get when you drink depends on:
How much you've eaten. You get drunk faster
on an empty stomach; food slows down the body's absorption of
alcohol.
How long it takes you to finish a drink. The
body metabolizes alcohol at 1/3 ounce per hour-a little less than
the amount in a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a
mixed drink with 11/2 ounces 80-proof liquor. So downing two or
three drinks in an hour is more intoxicating than sipping those
same drinks over the course of an evening.
What you drink. Generally, the higher the
concentration of alcohol, the more quickly alcohol is absorbed.
Vodka, for example. is 40 or 50 percent alcohol, so it's absorbed
faster than beer, which averages 3.2 to 5 percent alcohol.
Carbonation. Carbonated drinks like champagne
are absorbed faster than noncarbonated drinks, like wine.
Your weight. Given equal amounts of alcohol
consumed in 1 hour, a lighter person will reach a higher blood
alcohol level than a heavier person.
Your age. Given equal amounts of alcohol,
older people generally achieve higher blood alcohol levels than
younger people.
The
Effects of Alcohol
As the amount of
alcohol in your blood increases, your mental and physical
reactions to it change. Here's a rough guide to the
physical and psychological effects of alcohol
consumption.
|
| Alcohol in Blood (%) |
Typical Effects |
| 0.05 |
Loosening of judgment, thought, and
restraint. Release of tension, carefree sensation. |
| 0.08 |
Tension and inhibitions of everyday life
lessened. |
| 0.10* |
Voluntary motor action affected; hand and
arm movements, walk, and speech clumsy. |
| 0.20 |
Severe impairment. Staggering; loud,
incoherent speech. Emotionally unstable. One hundred
times greater risk of traffic accident. |
| 0.30 |
Deeper areas of brain affected, causing
confusion and stupor. |
| 0.40 |
When asleep, difficult to arouse.
Incapable of voluntary action. Equivalent to surgical
anesthesia. |
| 0.50 |
Coma. Anesthesia of center controlling
breathing and heartbeat. Death. |
* For most states, a blood alcohol content
(BAC) of 0.10 is the indicator for driving while intoxicated.
KNOW
YOUR LIMIT
Body Weight
 (lbs.) Number of Drinks
Consumed in a 2-hour period*
|
| 100 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 120 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 140 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 160 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 180 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 200 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 220 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 240 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Be Careful Driving (BAC** to 0.05%)
Driving
May Be impaired (BAC**
0.05-0.09%)
Do Not
Drive!! Intoxication (BAC** 0.10% & up)***
NOTE: This chart provides averages only.
Individuals may vary, and factors such as food in the stomach,
medication, and fatigue can affect your tolerance.
*One drink equals 1 1/2 oz. of 80-proof liquor,
12 oz. of beer, or 5 oz. of wine.
**Blood alcohol content.
***The BAC percentages for impairment and intoxication vary from
state to state