Blood Alcohol Content or Blood Alcohol Concentration (abbreviated BAC) is the concentration In chemistry, concentration is the measure of how much of a given substance there is mixed with another substance. This can apply to any sort of chemical mixture, but most frequently the concept is limited to homogeneous solutions, where it refers to the amount of solute in the solvent of alcohol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a powerful psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. It is best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and thermometers. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as in a person's blood Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells – such as nutrients and oxygen – and transports waste products away from those same cells. BAC is most commonly used as a metric of intoxication Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state occurring when an organism has a high level of ethanol in its bloodstream, or when ethanol otherwise causes the physiological effect known as drunkenness. In humans, common symptoms may include slurred speech, euphoria, impaired balance, poor coordination, flushed face, reddened eyes, reduced for legal or medical purposes. It is usually expressed in terms of volume Volume is how much three-dimensional space a substance or shape occupies or contains, often quantified numerically using the SI derived unit, the cubic metre. The volume of a container is generally understood to be the capacity of the container, i. e. the amount of fluid (gas or liquid) that the container could hold, rather than the amount of of alcohol per volume Volume is how much three-dimensional space a substance or shape occupies or contains, often quantified numerically using the SI derived unit, the cubic metre. The volume of a container is generally understood to be the capacity of the container, i. e. the amount of fluid (gas or liquid) that the container could hold, rather than the amount of of blood in the body. That is a unit-less ratio commonly expressed as parts per million (PPM) or as a fractional percentage. That is a decimal with 2-3 significant digits followed by a percentage sign, which means 1/100 of the previous number (E.g. 0.820%). Since measurement must be accurate and inexpensive, several measurement techniques are used as proxies to approximate the true parts per million measure. Some of the most common are listed here: (1) Volume of alcohol per volume of exhaled breath (eg. 0.08 mL/L), (2) Mass In physics, mass commonly refers to any of three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent: Inertial mass, active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass. In everyday usage, mass is often taken to mean weight, but in scientific use, they refer to different properties per volume Volume is how much three-dimensional space a substance or shape occupies or contains, often quantified numerically using the SI derived unit, the cubic metre. The volume of a container is generally understood to be the capacity of the container, i. e. the amount of fluid (gas or liquid) that the container could hold, rather than the amount of of blood in the body (Eg: 0.08 g/L), and (3) Mass of alcohol per mass of the body (Eg: 0.08 g/Kg).

The number of drinks consumed is a poor measure of BAC, largely because of variations in weight, sex, and body fat.

Contents

Effects at different levels

See also: Short-term effects of alcohol The short-term effects of alcohol on the human body can take many forms. Alcohol, specifically ethanol, is a central nervous system depressant with a range of side effects. The amount and circumstances of consumption play a large part in determining the extent of intoxication; for example, consuming alcohol after a heavy meal causes alcohol to

Unless a person has developed a high tolerance for alcohol, a BAC rating of 0.20% represents very serious intoxication, and 0.35%–0.40% represents potentially fatal alcohol poisoning.[1] 0.40% is the accepted LD50 In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 , LC50 (Lethal Concentration, 50%) or LCt50 (Lethal Concentration & Time) of a toxic substance or radiation is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. LD50 figures are frequently used as a general indicator of a substance's acute toxicity, the dose that is lethal for 50% of adult humans.[2]

Progressive Effects of Alcohol[3]
BAC (%) Behavior Impairment
0.01–0.029
  • Average individual appears normal
  • Subtle effects that can be detected with special tests
0.03–0.059
  • Mild euphoria
  • Sense of well-being
  • Relaxation
  • Joyousness
  • Talkativeness
  • Decreased inhibition
  • Alertness
  • Judgment
  • Coordination
  • Concentration
0.06–0.10
  • Blunted Feelings
  • Disinhibition
  • Extroversion
  • Lowered Libido
  • Reasoning
  • Depth Perception
  • Peripheral Vision
  • Glare Recovery
0.11–0.20
  • Over-Expression
  • Emotional Swings
  • Angriness or Sadness
  • Boisterousness
  • Reflexes
  • Reaction Time
  • Gross Motor Control
  • Staggering
  • Slurred Speech
0.21–0.29
  • Stupor
  • Loss of Understanding
  • Impaired Sensations
  • Severe Motor Impairment
  • Loss of Consciousness
  • Memory Blackout
0.30–0.39
  • Severe CNS Depression
  • Unconsciousness
  • Death Possible
  • Bladder Function
  • Breathing
  • Heart Rate
≥0.40
  • General lack of behavior
  • Unconsciousness
  • Death
  • Breathing
  • Heart Rate
  • Life
Standard Drink Chart (US)[4] See also: Alcohol equivalence Alcohol equivalence refers to a system of standard drink sizes of various types of alcoholic beverages which contain an equivalent amount of alcohol per drink
Alcohol Amount in ml Amount in fl. oz. Serving size Alcohol % by vol. Alcohol in fl. oz.
80 proof liquor 44 ml 1.5 fl. oz. one shot 40 0.6 fl. oz.
beer 355 ml 12 fl. oz. one can 5 0.6 fl. oz.
table wine 148 ml 5 fl. oz. one glass 12 0.6 fl. oz.
Male Female Approximate Blood Alcohol Percentage (US)[5] One drink has 0.5 fl. oz. alcohol by volume
Drinks Body Weight
40 kg 45 kg 55 kg 64 kg 73 kg 82 kg 91 kg 100 kg 109 kg
90 lb 100 lb 120 lb 140 lb 160 lb 180 lb 200 lb 220 lb 240 lb
1 – .05 .04 .05 .03 .04 .03 .03 .02 .03 .02 .03 .02 .02 .02 .02 .02 .02
2 – .10 .08 .09 .06 .08 .05 .07 .05 .06 .04 .05 .04 .05 .03 .04 .03 .04
3 – .15 .11 .14 .09 .11 .08 .10 .07 .09 .06 .08 .06 .07 .05 .06 .05 .06
4 – .20 .15 .18 .12 .15 .11 .13 .09 .11 .08 .10 .08 .09 .07 .08 .06 .08
5 – .25 .19 .23 .16 .19 .13 .16 .12 .14 .11 .13 .09 .11 .09 .10 .08 .09
6 – .30 .23 .27 .19 .23 .16 .19 .14 .17 .13 .15 .11 .14 .10 .12 .09 .11
7 – .35 .26 .32 .22 .27 .19 .23 .16 .20 .15 .18 .13 .16 .12 .14 .11 .13
8 – .40 .30 .36 .25 .30 .21 .26 .19 .23 .17 .20 .15 .18 .14 .17 .13 .15
9 – .45 .34 .41 .28 .34 .24 .29 .21 .26 .19 .23 .17 .20 .15 .19 .14 .17
10 – .51 .38 .45 .31 .38 .27 .32 .23 .28 .21 .25 .19 .23 .17 .21 .16 .19
Subtract approximately .01 every 40 minutes after drinking.

Units of measurement

There are several different units in use around the world for defining blood alcohol concentration. Each is defined as either a mass of alcohol per volume of blood or a mass of alcohol per mass of blood (never a volume per volume). 1 milliliter of blood is approximately equivalent to 1.06 grams of blood. Because of this, units by volume are similar but not identical to units by mass.

Unit Dimensions Equivalent to Used in
1 percent BAC by volume 1/100 (%) g/mL = 1 cg/mL 9.43 mg/g, 217.4 mmol/L United States, Australia, Canada
1 permille A per mil or per mille (Latin, literally meaning 'for (every) thousand') is a tenth of a percent or one part per thousand. It is written with the sign ‰ (Unicode U+2030, html entity ‰)., which looks like a percent sign (%) with an extra zero at the end. It can be seen as a stylized form of the three zeros in the denominator, although BAC by volume 1/1000 (‰) g/mL = 1 mg/mL 0.943 mg/g, 21.7 mmol/L Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Germany
1 basis point A basis point is a unit related to the change in an interest rate, and it is equal to 1/100th of a percentage point. Put another way: 1 bp = 0.01% BAC by volume 1/10,000 (‱) g/mL = 100 μg/mL 94.3 ppm, 2.17 mmol/L Britain
1 permille BAC by mass 1/1000 (‰) g/g = 1 mg/g 1.06 mg/mL, 23 mmol/L Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
1 part per million Parts-per notation is used, especially in science and engineering, to denote relative proportions in measured quantities; particularly in low-value proportions at the parts-per-million (ppm) 10–6, parts-per-billion (ppb) 10–9, and parts-per-trillion (ppt) 10–12 level. Since parts-per notations are quantity-per-quantity measures, they are 1/1,000,000 (ppm) g/g = 1 μg/g 1.06 μg/mL, 23 μmol/L
1 thousandth Molarity In chemistry, molar concentration is a measure of the concentration of a solute in a solution, or of any molecular, ionic, or atomic species in a given volume. However, in thermodynamics the use of molar concentration is often not very convenient, because the volume of most solutions slightly depends on temperature due to thermal expansion. This 1 mmol/L 0.0046 cg/mL,[6] 4.34 cg/g Medical personnel

Legal limits

For purposes of law enforcement, BAC is used to define intoxication and provides a rough measure of impairment. Although degree of impairment may vary among individuals with the same BAC, BAC can be measured objectively and is therefore legally useful and difficult to contest in court. Most countries disallow operation of motor vehicles and heavy machinery above prescribed levels of BAC. Operation of boats and aircraft are also regulated.

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