Blood Alcohol Estimator Card

Besides conducting research to help develop better treatments for alcoholism, the Charleston Alcohol Research Center has several outreach and education programs in the community designed to encourage responsible alcohol use.

Our most widespread outreach effort is a Blood Alcohol Concentration card. It's the size of a credit card and allows you estimate your blood alcohol level for your weight and sex.

We realize that most people who have one drink have no reservation about driving afterward. This may be a reasonable assumption. The question is, at what point is this dangerous? After 2 drinks? After 3? Do you know what constitutes a standard drink? Do you know how each drink affects your blood alcohol concentration? The BAC card provides this information as well as the phone numbers of taxi services in our area to help you avoid driving while impaired by alcohol.

Undoubtedly, the safest practice is not to drive if you've been drinking. Research shows that reaction time is affected at a blood alcohol level of .04-- this is lower than the legal driving limit.

The most important goal is to avoid injuring yourself or others. Avoiding a DUI is secondary to this. A wise practice is to refrain from driving if your blood alcohol level is .04 or higher.

We are providing the Blood Alcohol Concentration card free of charge. To receive a card, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the following address:

Blood Alcohol Concentration Card Request Center
Charleston Alcohol Research Center
MSC 861, CDAP 4 North
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC  29425