Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Calculator
Estimate your blood alcohol concentration from what you drank, how long ago you started, your gender, and your body weight — including how your BAC falls over time and how long it will take to reach 0%.
Amount of Alcohol Consumed
| Type | Amount | Size | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beer | |||
| Wine | |||
| Liquor | |||
| Other | % |
BAC is around .
* The results are meant for educational purposes only and are not intended to replace the medical advice of doctors or health care providers. Please consult your health care provider regarding specific health conditions.
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(Responsive Fluid)
What BAC means
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the standard measure of alcohol intoxication. It is expressed as a percentage of alcohol per volume of blood: in the United States, a BAC of 0.08 (0.08%) means 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood. In the US, the legal driving limit is 0.08% for drivers over 21, the legal drinking age; drivers under 21 face stricter limits that vary by state, from about 0.01% to 0.05%.
Alcohol and health
Alcohol's short-term effects include dehydration and intoxication; longer-term effects can include changes in the metabolism of the liver and brain, and alcoholism — alcohol use that causes problems with mental or physical health. Some studies associate a glass of red wine a day with potential benefits, but those claims have not been rigorously proven, and more recent work recommends that alcohol not be consumed for its potential health benefits. Potential benefits reported for light-to-moderate drinking (about one drink a day: 12 fl oz of beer, 5 fl oz of wine, or 1.5 fl oz of distilled spirits) include reduced risk of heart disease, ischemic stroke, and diabetes — but even light drinking can raise the risk of certain cancers, and the benefits, where they exist, are small next to the risks.
Heavy drinking — more than three drinks a day for women and men over 65, or more than four drinks a day (or 14 a week) for younger men, in the Mayo Clinic's definition — has no health benefits and is linked to certain cancers, sudden death from pre-existing cardiovascular disease, heart-muscle damage and heart failure, stroke, high blood pressure, liver disease, accidental injury or death, and brain damage. Nobody should start drinking for health benefits; anyone who drinks should discuss with their doctor what is safe for them.
Effects by blood alcohol concentration
Impairment grows with BAC — from subtle effects detectable only with special tests at 0.001–0.029%, through problems with concentration, reflexes, and motor control, to a serious possibility of death at 0.50% or more:
| BAC (%) | Behavior | Impairment |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001–0.029 | Average individual appears normal | Subtle effects that can be detected with special tests |
| 0.030–0.059 | Mild euphoria, relaxation, joyousness, talkativeness, decreased inhibition | Concentration |
| 0.060–0.099 | Blunted feelings, reduced sensitivity to pain, euphoria, disinhibition, extraversion | Reasoning, depth perception, peripheral vision, glare recovery |
| 0.100–0.199 | Over-expression, boisterousness, possibility of nausea and vomiting | Reflexes, reaction time, gross motor control, staggering, slurred speech, temporary erectile dysfunction |
| 0.200–0.299 | Nausea, vomiting, emotional swings, anger or sadness, partial loss of understanding, impaired sensations, decreased libido, possibility of stupor | Severe motor impairment, loss of consciousness, memory blackout |
| 0.300–0.399 | Stupor, central nervous system depression, loss of understanding, lapses in and out of consciousness, low possibility of death | Bladder function, breathing, dysequilibrium, heart rate |
| 0.400–0.500 | Severe central nervous system depression, coma, possibility of death | Breathing, heart rate, positional alcohol nystagmus |
| >0.50 | High possibility of death |