The effects of alcohol

What happens in the body when you drink alcohol?

After drinking an alcoholic beverage, blood alcohol levels rise rapidly. Within 10-15 minutes if drunk on an empty stomach, and 30-60 minutes if drunk with a meal, alcohol spreads throughout the body's tissues, and very quickly reaches the brain (which is highly irrigated), where it modifies activity: visual acuity diminishes, the visual field narrows, attention, concentration, discernment and judgment are impaired, reaction time increases, as does the appetite for risk.
At first, one or other of these effects may be perceived as positive. In larger quantities, alcohol causes inappropriate behavior and its effects, even those that were "pleasant" at first, can become unpleasant. This will evolve according to the amount of alcohol in the blood, but also to the person's state of mind, the context...

The French National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (INPES) describes the evolution of the state of a person who drinks alcohol as follows:

up to 0.7g/l of blood, phase of excitement: alertness, perception, memory and balance are affected, the person is euphoric, uninhibited; between 0.7 and 2g/l, the inebriation phase: incoordination with impaired alertness, ranging from drowsiness to torpor (virtually no ability to react); above 2g/l, sleepiness; above 3g/l, risk of ethyl coma (loss of consciousness, drop in body temperature, possible respiratory paralysis).

How long does it take to eliminate alcohol?

5% of absorbed alcohol is eliminated through the skin, kidneys, stomach and lungs. The remaining 95% is eliminated by the liver alone, which explains the slow rate of elimination: 0.10 to 0.15g/l of blood per hour on average (equivalent to a "standard" glass). The larger the quantity drunk, the longer the elimination time.
Depending on your age, height and weight, the elimination time varies: test yourself !
Contrary to popular belief, there is no way to speed up alcohol elimination and get rid ofdrunk faster. Time is your only ally. Although it is possible to reduce the risk of getting drunk, this does not reduce the long-term consequences of alcohol.