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Drug & Alcohol Information
Alcohol Absorption By Body
Alchohol is not digested; it is directly absorbed into the blood stream by the small
intestine. The amount of alcohol present in the blood is called the BAC
(blood alcohol content). When the BAC is 0.10% there is approximately one
drop of alcohol for every 1,000 drops of blood.
The Relationship Between BAC and Drinks Consumed:
On the average, a "typical" drink containing one half once of pure alcohol will increase
the BAC level of a 150 pound man by 0.02%. To reach a BAC of 0.10% the average
person needs a little over 4 drinks in an hour.
A drink is defined as:
- 1 bear
- 1 wine cooler
- 6 oz. of wine
- 1 shot hard liquor (alone or in a mixed drink)
Factors that affect BAC:
Body Size and Weight: A larger person needs more alcohol to reach a
particular BAC than a smaller person does. Body Composition: Alcohol spreads throughoout the watery, lean parts of
the body. The more body fat a person has, the less lean body mass and
therefore, the less they need to drink to reach a certain BAC. Gender: Women have lower levels of the enzymes that metabolize (remove)
alcohol from the blood. Therefore alcohol from a drink circulates
longer and can accumulate more with subsequent drinks. In addition,
women usually have more body fat and less lean body mass than men. Amonut of Food in the GI Tract: Food not only dilutes the alcohol
in the GI (digestive) tract, it also slows the flow of alcohol into the
small intestine. This delay allows some of the alcohol to be
metabolized before more is added. Time Spend Drinking: Alcohol is eliminated by the liver at a constant rate
of about half an ounce of alcohol (one "typical" drink) per hour. If
a person drinks slowly, at close to this elimination rate, alcohol will
not build up in the body and a constant BAC can be maintained. Time Since Last Drink: Because the body takes time to absorb the alcohol
from the intestines (especially if there is food in teh stomach), the BAC
can contiune to rise after the person has stopped drinking. Afte a
peak BAC is reached, the amount of alcohol in the body slowly
decreases as it is eliminated
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