The most important factors are body weight and sex.
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Lower body weight reduces the number of drinks for blood alcohol to reach the legal limit for driving.
It takes only 2 drinks for a 100 lb woman to exceed the legal blood alcohol limit for driving. It takes 3 drinks for a 140 lb woman to exceed the legal blood alcohol limit for driving. It takes 4 drinks for a 180 lb woman to exceed the legal blood alcohol limit for driving. Therefore, an increase of 40 lbs in weight allows for 1 more drink before the legal limit is reached. This relationship is also seen in men. (Constructed from data in Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, 1995)
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With the same weight for a standard drink women have higher BAL than men.
women have higher BAL than men
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Other factors that alter the rate of alcohol absorption include:
- Empty stomach – increase absorption
- Carbonation of beverage – increase absorption
- Drugs (aspirin, ulcer/heartburn medications like “Tagamet/Zantac”) – decrease gastric metabolism and thereby increase blood levels
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