What does our on-site and online TABC certification course teach you about BAC?
August 6, 2014
How Does TABC Define Intoxication?
One of the many interesting issues we discuss in our on-site and online TABC certification courses is that of intoxication and how it is defined. That is, how is someone legally determined to be intoxicated?
The interesting thing about intoxication is that it can be defined one of two ways. According to the TABC, intoxication is defined as “Not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or more.”
Factors That Impact Your Level Of Intoxication
Blood Alcohol Concentration, or BAC, is the measurement of the amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream expressed as a percentage. Various factors can impact a person’s BAC or level of intoxication, such as:
Gender – For various reasons, BAC rises more quickly for women than for men. That is, in general, a 120-pound woman who consumes two alcoholic beverages will have a BAC of 0.08, whereas a man of the same weight who drinks the same number of drinks would only have a BAC of 0.06.
Body weight and type – In general, BAC rises more quickly for smaller people than it does for larger people.
Muscle/fat ratio – Body fat does not draw in and process alcohol as well as lean muscle, and therefore people with more body fat have a higher BAC.
Type and timing of food – Those who drink on an empty stomach will absorb the alcohol more quickly, resulting in a higher BAC.
Fatigue – Fatigue on its own produces symptoms that mimic intoxication, so when a fatigued person consumes alcohol, those intoxicative effects are amplified.
To learn more about what material is included in our on-site and online TABC certification courses, or to sign-up for a course, contact TABC On The Fly today.
TABC On The Fly is an official provider of on-site and online TABC certification approved by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
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