How much alcohol is really in a drink?
Beer usually contains 3% to 5% alcohol. Wine has 9% to 16%. Hard liquor usually contains the highest levels (up to 50%). Most states consider an adult to be intoxicated, or drunk, at 0.08% blood level of alcohol. For a man who weighs 170 pounds, this might mean only 4 beers (12-ounce cans) on an empty stomach in an hour. For a woman who weighs 137 pounds, this might mean less than 3 beers in an hour. For people under 21, many states now practice zero-tolerance laws, which means you are breaking the law if you have any alcohol in your system.
Is there anything I can do to sober up?
No. It takes time for your body to get all the alcohol out of your system. Many people think coffee can help, but it can't make you sober or speed your reaction times if you've been drinking. It can make you think you're alert when you're really not.
Myth: Switching between beer, wine and liquor will make you more drunk than sticking to one type of alcohol.
Whatever! Your blood alcohol content (BAC - the percent of alcohol in your blood) is what determines how drunk you are. Not the flavors you selected. Alcohol is alcohol.
Myth: Switching between beer, wine and liquor will make you more drunk than sticking to one type of alcohol.
Whatever! Your blood alcohol content (BAC - the percent of alcohol in your blood) is what determines how drunk you are. Not the flavors you selected. Alcohol is alcohol.
Myth: You'll get drunk a lot quicker with hard liquor than with a beer or wine cooler.
Did we mention that alcohol is alcohol?
Myth: Drugs are a bigger problem than alcohol.
Alcohol kills more young people than cocaine, heroin, and every other illegal drug combined. Eighteen million Americans are addicted to alcohol or have alcohol abuse issues. Alcohol is the No. 1 drug problem of today's youth.
The Magnitude of the Problem
- Nearly two out of every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash in their lifetime
- Each year, in the
- Nationally, each year, about 534,000 people suffer injuries in alcohol-related traffic crashes, an average of one person injured every minute. About 40,000 of these are serious injuries.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 17,013 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes (an average of one almost every half-hour) in 2003. These deaths constituted approximately 40 percent of the 42,642 total traffic fatalities.
Also in 2003, 25 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking; 19 percent were intoxicated.
Also in 2003, 25 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking; 19 percent were intoxicated.
Ethyl alcohol is THE MOST commonly used and abused drug in the
Use of alcohol or other drugs adversely affects driving ability. Taking more than one drug at a time is particularly dangerous since each can add significantly to the impact of the other, especially when one of the drugs is alcohol.
According to the NHTSA Alcohol Traffic Safety Facts sheet, in 2003 the rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is more than three times as high at night as during the day (61 percent vs. 18 percent). For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate is five times as high at night (16 percent vs. 3 percent). Thirty percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared to 53 percent on weekends. For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate was 5 percent during the week and 12 percent during the weekend.
- According to the NHTSA's National Center for
Statistics and Analysis, 24 percent of young drivers age 15 to 20 who were killed in crashes had BAC levels of .08 or higher.
- The rate of alcohol-related fatal crashes among drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for drivers 21 and older. The reason for this is the inexperience of young people, not only in driving, but also in drinking. (Traffic Safety Facts 2003, NHTSA)