Standard Drink | Blood Alcohol Calculator | Alcohol Calorie Comparison
Binge Drinking | Alcohol Overdose
Secondhand Effects of Alcohol | Just For Fun

On this page you will find lots of helpful facts for you to better understand how alcohol affects your body and your relationships. From the basic facts of what alcohol is to more specific information on how alcohol affects parts of the body, your social activities, and how alcohol culture is created, you’ll find plenty of information here. If you need more information, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Standard Drink

A standard drink is defined as:

12 oz beer at roughly 5% alcohol (i.e. Miller Lite, Budweiser, Coors Light)
8-9oz of malt liquor at roughly 7% alcohol (i.e. generally come in 40 oz’s)
5 oz of wine at 12% alcohol
1.5 oz of hard alcohol at roughly 40% alcohol (i.e. whiskey, vodka)

Source: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Practitioner/pocketguide/pocket_guide2.htm

Blood Alcohol Calculator

Use this calculator to calculate your blood alcohol content.

Blood Alcohol Calculator

Alcohol Calorie Comparison

Use this calculator to determine how many alcoholic calories you have consumed, and compare it to some common food and drinks

Calorie Calculator

Binge Drinking

“Binge drinking” is defined as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings BAC to .08 or above. For a typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or 4 or more drinking (female), in about 2 hours. Further, it is understood that binge drinking elevates one’s risk to experience negative consequences.

Alcohol Overdose

Alcohol Overdose has replaced the term “Alcohol Poisoning” because the reality is that one has overdosed on alcohol. Alcohol is a drug and like any other drug, taking too much is considered an overdose. When this happens, medical attention is necessary.

Signs of an alcohol overdose:

Mental confusion, stupor, coma, or person cannot be roused.
Vomiting.
Seizures.
Slow breathing (fewer than eight breaths per minute).
Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths).
Hypothermia (low body temperature), bluish skin color, paleness.

What to do:

If you are on campus, call Public Safety at 414-288-1911 first. They will relay the message to emergency services so that you don’t have to call 9-1-1. Public Safety will also be able to respond faster than an ambulance.

If you are off-campus, call 9-1-1.

If a friend is showing any of the above signs, call for help. Our first priority at Marquette is the health and safety of students.

Secondhand Effects of Alcohol

Has your roommate ever woken you up in the middle of the night because they were loud?
Have you been at a party and someone just won’t stop hitting on you?
Have you ever had to stay up looking after your roommate or making sure they walked home safely after a party?
Have you ever had to walk around a biohazard in the bathroom?
Have you ever seen maintenance staff on the weekend cleaning up after someone else?
Have you ever had to pay a fine because someone on your floor damaged property?

If you answered yes to any of these, then you are experiencing secondhand effects of alcohol.

Secondhand Effects are not something to take lightly. They should be addressed with the person, when they are sober, and if that doesn’t work, ask for help addressing the behavior (i.e. call your RA).

To speak with someone about their behavior, here are some helpful approaches.

Seek advice and support from other friends. You don’t have to be the only person to address the issue with them.
Be prepared for any type of reaction. The person may realize they have a problem and be grateful to you for speaking to them. On the other hand, the person may become very angry with you. However, after they get over their anger, the person might realize you are coming from a place of care and concern.
If the person is responsive and wants to seek help, be prepared to walk with them on this journey.
If the person is not responsive, realize that they have to come to terms with their own issues and that you are not to blame for the stress on the relationship.