Alcohol impairment: What are blood alcohol concentration levels?

DxRx Medical has built an app that helps people struggling with their alcohol use either cut back or stop drinking altogether. (Bogdan Hoda/Dreamstime/TNS)

DxRx Medical has built an app that helps people struggling with their alcohol use either cut back or stop drinking altogether. (Bogdan Hoda/Dreamstime/TNS)

The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroners office revealed Wednesday the blood alcohol concentration of a Roswell teen that died Sept. 14 after a suspected hazing incident.

Max Gruver, 18, had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.495 — more than six times the legal limit for drivers — at the time of his death. Ten people associated with Phi Delta Theta fraternity were charged Wednesday in his death.

But what is blood alcohol concentration (BAC)?

According to Aware Awake Alive, a nonprofit dedicated to educating people on the dangers and symptoms of alcohol overdoses, BAC represents the percent of your blood that is concentrated with alcohol. A BAC of 0.10 means that 0.10 percent of your bloodstream is composed of alcohol.

Individual reactions to alcohol vary, and are influenced by factors including age, sex, weight, food consumed and drug use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Want to check what your BAC might be after a night out? Aware Awake Alive has an alcohol tracker on its website. According to the tracker, a 140-pound person reaches the legal intoxication level for most states, 0.080, after three drinks.

MORE: LSU freshman from Roswell dies with .495% alcohol level

As your BAC increases so does impairment, according to the organization:

0.020—Drinkers begin to feel moderate effects.

0.080—Definite impairment of muscle coordination and driving. This is the legal intoxication level in most states.

0.120—Vomiting usually occurs.

0.150—Balance and movement are impaired. This is the equivalent of a half pint of whiskey circulating in the blood stream.

0.200—Most people begin to experience blackouts.

0.300—Many people lose consciousness.

0.400—Most people lose consciousness and some die.

0.450—Breathing stops. This is a fatal dose for most people.

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