Understanding Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)

Knowing how to teach students about alcohol impairment, blood alcohol content, and safe behaviors is vital to an alcohol awareness educational course.

When creating an educational program on alcohol impairment for students or young adults in the community, it’s important to cover blood alcohol content (BAC). This is a way to measure the amount of alcohol in a person’s system. Using hands-on learning tools and calculators can help open the door for conversations with students about the risks of consuming alcohol. In this blog, we’ll cover what BAC is, factors that can affect levels, and the dangers of mixing alcohol with other substances.

What is BAC

BAC is Blood Alcohol Content (or blood alcohol concentration). According to the CDC, BAC can be tested to help determine impairment, especially in the context of drinking and driving. It’s important to teach students that any level of impairment while driving is dangerous and may lead to crashes. To help students understand these risks, consider using the Fatal Vision Alcohol Goggles with the SIDNE vehicle to show the dangers of impairment, particularly when driving.

How BAC is Calculated and Measured

Blood alcohol content (BAC) can be calculated and measured in a variety of ways. The most well-known is a breathalyzer, a device that can test the amount of alcohol in a person’s system. This is often used by law enforcement; while a useful tool, it doesn’t provide preventative information for students or other young adults. To help students calculate what impacts BAC, consider using the Fatal Vision Intoxiclock system. With this software, you can help teach students what the impact on BAC can be in real time. Various factors can influence BAC, and this software can help teach students how BAC is calculated and measured in a safe environment.

Factors that Affect Blood Alcohol Content

There are a variety of factors that can affect BAC. In the Intoxiclock Pro software, students will be able to make variations or changes within the system to better reflect their personal body to get a sense of how alcohol will affect them. For example, students will be able to see how the type of drinks, number of drinks in a set amount of time, gender, weight, and more relate to BAC. Using this tool will allow students to understand how various types of alcohol and time will impact their intoxication levels in a safe environment to help encourage them to make safe choices. Within the software, students or educators are able to build customized drinking scenarios to help them understand the dangers of unsafe, risky behaviors and how that can impact BAC and impairment levels.

How Long it Takes BAC to Decrease After Drinking

The amount of time it takes BAC to decrease after drinking can vary due to age, weight, intoxication levels, gender, and more. Within the Fatal Vision Intoxiclock software, students can see the amount of time needed to a BAC of 0.0 based on the physical attributes they’ve input into the system.

The Dangers of Mixing Alcohol and Other Substances

Mixing alcohol with other drugs or substances (also known as polydrug impairment) can be a dangerous combination, especially for students and young adults. Mixing alcohol with other medications, substances, or drugs can create scenarios with dangerous consequences. When creating an alcohol impairment or alcohol awareness program, it’s vital to add resources that help students understand that mixing alcohol and other substances is hazardous to their health. Using Fatal Vision Polydrug goggles is a great way to show the dangers of mixing substances.

Alcohol awareness and education is important for students. Showing them educational videos, hanging posters and banners, and creating a safe space for conversations are vital to helping them understand the dangers of alcohol. Teaching them about blood alcohol content and how it can affect impairment with the Intoxiclock software is a great way to show dangerous or risky behaviors. For more information on how to incorporate these hands-on learning tools into your educational facilities, reach out to our team.