Blood Alcohol Level Content

Blood Alcohol Level Content

(It is assumed you are of legal drinking age in your country, state and/or province.)

We all absorb alcohol at different rates. Weight is the main reason, but a number of other factors affect blood alcohol levels. Your body type, metabolism and any medication you might be taking--not to mention the strength of your drink and if you’ve recently eaten anything--all play a role in how intoxicated you become. It is well known that if you eat while drinking, the alcohol is absorbed more slowly.

For almost everyone, impaired physical and mental acuity arrive around the bottom of that first drink. Drinking responsibly means knowing how alcohol affects you and the amount you can drink without endangering yourself or others. A person with a blood alcohol level in the range of .08 to .10 is considered legally intoxicated (in most states in the U.S.A.), and it takes only a few drinks to get there.

This comparison will give you an idea of how many drinks, at your present body weight, it would take to achieve a particular blood alcohol content level.
You can find this comparison chart at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. This should not be interpreted as a guide to how much you can drink before you are classified as legally drunk. Rather, it should be used as a reminder that it is much easier than you think to reach the level of significant impairment, and that most people feel they are still in control of themselves when they are in fact not, and should not be behind the wheel.

Remember: One drink= 1 oz. of proof liquor or 12 oz. of beer

# of DRINKS
Body weight 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
100 lbs. .038 .075 .113 .150 .188 .225 .263 .300 .338 .375 .413 .450
110 lbs. .034 .066 .103 .137 .172 .207 .241 .275 .309 .344 .379 .412
120 lbs. .031 .063 .094 .125 .156 .188 .219 .250 .281 .313 .344 .375
130 lbs. .029 .058 .087 .116 .145 .174 .203 .232 .261 .290 .320 .348
140 lbs. .027 .054 .080 .107 .134 .161 .188 .214 .241 .268 .295 .321
150 lbs. .025 .050 .075 .100 .125 .151 .176 .201 .226 .251 .276 .301
160 lbs. .023 .047 .070 .094 .117 .141 .164 .188 .211 .234 .258 .281
170 lbs. .022 .045 .066 .088 .110 .132 .155 .178 .200 .221 .244 .265
180 lbs. .021 .042 .063 .083 .104 .125 .146 .167 .188 .208 .229 .250
190 lbs. .020 .040 .059 .079 .099 .119 .138 .158 .179 .198 .217 .237
200 lbs. .019 .038 .056 .075 .094 .113 .131 .150 .169 .188 .206 .225
210 lbs. .018 .036 .053 .071 .090 .107 .125 .143 .161 .179 .197 .215
220 lbs. .017 .034 .051 .068 .085 .102 .119 .136 .153 .170 .188 .205
230 lbs. .016 .032 .049 .065 .081 .098 .115 .130 .147 .163 .180 .196
240 lbs. .016 .031 .047 .063 .078 .094 .109 .125 .141 .156 .172 .188

(Created from NHTSA chart, with modifications)

Do not drink and drive. The newest slogan in the U.S. is "Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving."