According to the American Medical Association, a 180 lb(82 kg) person who drinks three 12 ounce (355 ml)bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a BACof about 0.06 percent. The person would reach thesame BAC by drinking three 4 ounce (120 ml) glassesof wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces(45 ml) of liquors like whiskey, gin or vodka.It is the amount of alcohol that counts. For example,if the same person drank three double martinis(3 ounces or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, theperson’s BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A personwho consumes food just before or during drinking willhave a somewhat lower BAC level.There is a gender difference, too. Women generallyhave a lower relative percentage of body waterthan men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, thismeans that a woman generally will reach a higher BAClevel than a man of her same body weight will wheneach has the same number of drinks.The law in an increasing number of U.S. states, andthroughout Canada, sets the legal limit at 0.08 percent.In some other countries, the limit is even lower.For example, it is 0.05 percent in both France andGermany. The BAC limit for all commercial drivers inthe United States is 0.04 percent.The BAC will be over 0.10 percent after three tosix drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we have seen,it depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks,and how quickly the person drinks them.4-4
