How alcohol affects the body — Tennessee Permit Test

Alcohol begins to be absorbed into the bloodstream within 1 to 2 minutes after a drink is consumed.

Alcohol reaches your blood almost at once. You cannot drink and rush home before it takes effect.

Alcohol begins to be absorbed into the bloodstream within one to two minutes after an alcoholic beverage is consumed.

Intoxication occurs when you drink alcohol faster than the liver can oxidize it.

The liver works at a fixed pace. Every drink beyond that pace piles up in your blood and in your brain.

Intoxication occurs when you drink alcohol faster than the liver can oxidize it.

The liver can oxidize only about 1 drink per hour.

Three drinks at a party mean about three hours before that alcohol is gone, no matter how fine you feel.

However, the liver can only oxidize about one drink per hour.

Coffee, exercise or a cold shower cannot speed up how fast your body gets rid of alcohol; only time can sober a person who has been drinking.

A friend who drinks coffee may feel more awake, but is just as drunk. Waking up is not the same as sobering up.

Only time can sober a person who’s been drinking.

Food in the stomach makes alcohol absorb more slowly, but all the alcohol you drink still reaches your blood whether you have eaten or not.

Eating first slows the rise of alcohol in your blood, but it does not stop it. A full meal is not a license to drive.

Food in the stomach causes alcohol to be absorbed more slowly, slowing down the rate and the amount of intoxication.

How soon after a drink does alcohol begin to be absorbed into the bloodstream?

Within 1 to 2 minutes. Alcohol reaches your blood almost at once. You cannot drink and rush home before it takes effect. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.79: “Alcohol begins to be absorbed into the bloodstream within one to two minutes after an alcoholic beverage is consumed.”