Expert: Druideck - 8/22/2011

Question
I am confused about the relationship between one's alcohol "tolerance" and one's BAC. Let's use a BAC of .08 for example.

Does a person with a higher tolerance need more alcohol to achieve a BAC of .08 than a person with a lower tolerance? Or is it just that a person with a high tolerance will need more alcohol to feel the effects of drinking (ie. a person with a low tolerance will feel drunk with a BAC of .08 whereas a person with a high tolerance would need a BAC of .12 to feel drunk)?

Thanks!

Answer
Hello,

Tolerance is generally dependent on the
liver's ability to metabolize or break down
the alcohol consumed.

There are different types of tolerance which
is probably why it has confused you.

"Direct alcohol tolerance" is largely related to
body size. Your BAC of .08 would be reached
more quickly with less alcohol in a small person and the larger
body would need more alcohol to reach that level.

Where it gets more confusing is with
"consumption induced tolerance".

People of any body type that drink often
can develop a reduced sensitivity to alcohol.
They may need more alcohol to feel the effects.
They may have a high BAC and yet feel less drunk.

After a long period of heavy drinking
their liver can be damaged and then their
tolerance becomes less. They get drunk quickly
and their blood alcohol levels go up more quickly.

The effects you feel are not always relational
to the BAC level you might test.
It depends on how often and how much you drink
and whether your consumption based tolerance
is lessening over time.

In the beginning an alcoholic can develop a
high tolerance to the effects of drinking.
Eventually if the liver is unable to process the alcohol
very well then tolerance starts to go down.
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Druideck