As anyone who's been to a cocktail party has found out, we absorb alcohol at different rates. Weight is the chief reason, but a number of other factors affect Blood Alcohol levels, including your body type, metabolism, and any medication you're taking, not to mention the strength of your drinks and if you've eaten recently. For almost everyone, impaired physical and mental acuity arrive on the heels of that first drink.

Drinking responsibly means knowing how alcohol affects you and the amount you can drink without endangering yourself or others. A person with a Blood Alcohol level in the range of .08 to .10 is considered legally intoxicated, and it takes only a few drinks to get there. Use this calculator to estimate your own blood alcohol content under different circumstances.