Holiday Celebrations and the Benefits of Alcohol Monitoring

How to host a holiday celebration from our friends at MADD:

• Confirm that each guest has a safe ride home from your event
• Plan activities that do not involve alcohol
• Don’t push drinks upon your guests (drinking is not mandatory for having fun)
• Provide plenty of food to keep guests from drinking on an empty stomach
• Avoid salty snacks that make guests thirsty and drinking even more alcoholic beverages
• Offer plenty of non-alcoholic beverages and even mocktails
• Never serve alcohol to anyone under 21-years of age and never allow someone under 21 to serve alcohol at parties
• Never let your guests drive home if they are impaired or if you suspect they many have drunk one too many
• Have taxi numbers readily available to call for guests
• Stay within your limits so you can monitor the limits of your guests

The fact remains that 40% of traffic-related deaths occur during the Holidays of Christmas and New Year’s. This 40% of deaths involve drivers who are impaired with alcohol according to the NIAAA.

This number steadily increases each year and myths persist about what is considered impaired. Each person is different, but 0.08% is the legal limit in Texas and many do not realize how impaired they are or what 0.08% feels like. Using alcohol monitoring products like the PBT (Personal Breath Tester) allow users the ability to see how few drinks it takes to be over the legal limit. The best way to enjoy your evening if you choose to consume alcohol is to pace yourself between drinks with a non-alcoholic beverage, or a snack, or an activity. Pacing yourself between drinks allows a person to better manage and monitor their alcohol consumption. The most difficult lesson to learn is that even when a person stops consuming alcohol, the alcohol in their system continues to cause effects due to the intestine’s ability to deliver alcohol into the bloodstream. This causes impairment for several hours after the last sip of alcohol, making alcohol monitoring an essential part of drinking.

Smart Start, Inc. wants each of you to remember when you toast to the health and well-being of your friends and family for the holidays, make sure you mean it, and ensure you do not let your holiday celebrations end tragically.

Blood Alcohol Level Chart

Find your blood alcohol level by using the chart below.

One drink is considered:

• (1) 12 fl oz beer
• (1) 5 fl oz glass of wine
• (1) 1.5 fl oz shot of hard liquor

BLUE = Impaired Driver                            RED = Legally Drunk Driver