Warmer weather is here, this typically comes with long days, activities in the sun, celebrations and alcohol. As April is Alcohol Awareness month the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment program encourages you to engage in responsible drinking behavior, if you choose to consume alcohol.
Misuse of alcohol this time of year is common. The first step in ensuring you are being responsible is to understand how misuse is possible. Blood alcohol content is the measurable level of alcohol that has metabolized into your blood stream. Each standard drink consumed by an average 180 lb. man will increase his BAC by .02%. Each standard drink consumed by an average 120 lb. female will increase her BAC by .03%. It is important to remember that BAC is not affected by tolerance. The more you drink, the higher your BAC will be, even if you do not feel the effects.
One standard serving drink is anything that contains 1.5 oz. of ethyl alcohol. What does that look like? It can be 1.5 oz. of distilled alcohol, 5 oz. of wine or 12 oz. of beer. Just one standard drink will impair your driving abilities. Having 4 to 5 standard drinks constitutes as binge drinking, a potentially dangerous example of irresponsible drinking. It takes approximately 30 minutes for one drink to metabolize into your bloodstream and 2 to 4 hours for it to process out of your bloodstream. Regardless of gender, age or race, if you consume three drinks it will take at least six hours before you return to an alcohol-free state.
Consequences of misusing alcohol can include alcohol poisoning, vomiting, seizures, unconsciousness and death. This does not include any potential legal consequences such as DUI or public intoxication charges, physical assaults, jail time, fines, suspended license, loss of driving privileges on base, reduction in rank and the list goes on.
Most importantly is the risk of harm or loss of life to yourself and others. It is not worth it.