BAC Effects

"Different blood alcohol concentration levels are associated with different mental and physical effects. At 0.02 BAC, there may be some loss of judgment, altered mood, relaxation, and increased body warmth. At 0.05, behavior may be exaggerated, judgment impaired, and there may be some loss of muscle control, such as difficulty focusing the eyes; alertness is usually lowered and inhibitions may be released. At 0.08, poor muscle coordination, including balance, speech, vision, and reaction time, may occur, along with difficulty detecting danger and impaired judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory. At 0.10, there is clear deterioration of muscle control and reaction time, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking. At 0.15, there is far less muscle control than normal, major loss of balance, and vomiting. In addition to the one drink per hour guideline, the rate at which an individual’s BAC rises is affected by sex, weight, genetics, length of time as a heavy drinker, type and amount of alcohol consumed, consumption rate, consumption before or after a meal, mixtures, and medications. A woman’s BAC will rise more quickly than a man’s, BAC will rise more slowly for heavier people, food in the stomach slows absorption, carbonated mixers speed absorption, and medications may increase the bioavailability of alcohol."