Resources
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is the amount of alcohol in a person's blood, expressed as a percentage.
Example: A BAC of 0.01 percent means that one-tenth of 1 percent of the fluid in the blood is alcohol. The higher a person's blood alcohol content is, the more severe are the physical and behavioral effects.
Most teens want to know:
“How much alcohol does it take to reach a BAC of 0.01?”
“How much alcohol will it take to get me buzzed?”
“Will I pass out if I have just a couple of beers?”
“Is alcohol addictive?”
“Can alcohol really kill me?”
The answer is it all depends on the following factors:
- How much and how fast the alcohol is consumed;
- One's weight, size, and age;
- One's mood, general health and other substances already in the body, such as food or other drugs; and
- Whether the person is male or female.
Here's a quick fact to help you put things in perspective: It only takes 1 teaspoon of cough syrup to reach a BAC of 0.01.
Check out the male and female intoxication charts and try to calculate where you would be on the charts.
