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University of Wyoming

FAQs...

The following are common questions and their answers concerning alcohol and other drug use.  If you have a question that is not answered below, please send us an email at aware@uwyo.edu. 

Q: What is considered a drink?

A: In research and in practice, a "drink" has actually been defined.  Most people have heard that a standard drink refers to a beer, a glass of wine, or a shot of "hard liquor."  Below are more precise definitions of a "drink."

  • 12oz “regular beer”- Budweiser, Coors, etc.

  • 10oz microbrew or malt beverage

  • 4oz of table wine

  • 2.5oz fortified wine- i.e., Mad Dog, Night Train, Boone’s

  • 1.25oz of 80 proof alcohol

  • 1.0 oz of 100 proof alcohol

Q: What does the "proof" of alcohol mean?

A: Proof refers to the percentage of ethyl alcohol by volume in any particular type of alcoholic beverage.  Proof corresponds to twice the percentage rate.  For example, a bottle of whiskey may be 80 proof or 40% alcohol by volume.

Q: Why do men and women react differently to alcohol?

A: There are a number of reasons that women react differently than men to alcohol, including:. 

  • On average, total body water in a woman is lower than in a man, thus there is less water in which alcohol is diluted 
  • Men have a greater concentration of dehydrogenase, an enzyme that breaks down alcohol
  • Women’s hormonal concentration fluctuates as a function of their monthly cycle.  Alcohol reacts with certain hormones, such as estrogen, to produce increased intoxication 
  • Differences in body fat concentration between men and women produces a differential effect.  Thus, the question might be better posed as, why does alcohol affect people differently who weigh the same but have different percentages of body fat.  Due to biology and the ability to carry a child, women have a higher percentage of body fat than men of the same size and weight.   Plus, adipose (“fatty”) tissue is not vascular meaning there is very little blood and blood vessels running through it.

Q: What is B.A.C.?

A:  Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) refers to the concentration of pure ethyl alcohol in an individuals' blood.  It is usually described as a percentage such as in the legal driving limit for the state of Wyoming...0.08%.

Q: Does tolerance allow me to drink more without getting drunk?

A: Your level of drunkenness, or intoxication level, is dependent solely on your BAC.  You cannot change the percentage of alcohol that gets into your blood by increasing tolerance.  Tolerance is primarily psychological, in other words, your brain has learned to make some adjustments while you are drinking.  Basically, you have become used to feeling drunk and do not perceive the level of impairment.  However, things like reaction time, balance, coordination, visual acuity, and reasoning and judgment are immutably impaired based exclusively on BAC.  You will be just as drunk if it is your first time drinking or your 5000th time drinking.  Only your perception changes, not your level of impairment or intoxication.

Q: What is "binge drinking?"

A: "Binge drinking" is a research term that has received a lot of press in recent years in relation to college student's misuse of alcohol.  Technically, a "binge drinking" episode is defined as five or more drinks in a sitting for a man, four or more drinks in a sitting for a woman.

Q: What is the most common type of date rape drug?

A: Without question...ALCOHOL.  Each year 70,000 sexual assaults occur and over 100,000 students report being too drunk to remember whether or not they consented to sex.

Q: Why is everybody so worried about how much college students drink?

A: In just one year, on college campuses across the nation, there are an average of 70,000 sexual assaults, 500,000 injuries, 600,000 assaults, and 1400 deaths...all as a result of excessive alcohol use.

Q: Doesn't almost everyone smoke pot?

A: NO...in a recent survey of UW students only 16.7% smoked pot at least once in the last 30 days, 64.3% have never smoked.  Ironically, students who were surveyed believed that 80% of their peers had smoked pot in the last 30 days.  They thought that 67% more people were smoking pot who actually were NOT.  Aren't misperceptions funny?