How alcohol leaves the body

By the end of this lesson you can explain what alcohol does inside a guest and how it leaves. Lesson 1-1 covered how much alcohol goes in. This lesson covers what the body does with it, and why that answer decides how you serve the last hour of a shift.

Alcohol slows the brain down

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. It slows down brain functions and thought processes. It can also affect other body functions, such as breathing and heart rate.

The word "depressant" describes the drug, not the mood. Alcohol switches on the brain's pleasure and reward centres at the same time. A guest can feel:

• a sense of wellbeing
• relaxed
• disinhibited, meaning less control over their actions, especially inappropriate ones
• euphoric, an intense feeling of excitement or happiness

Both effects come from one drug working at once. The table gets warmer and louder while brain function is already slowing.

You see the good feelings, because good feelings are loud. The slowed thought process behind them makes no noise. That gap is why a guest can tell you they feel great and be telling the truth about the part they can feel.

Ontario's driving material names what the slowdown looks like from outside: blurred or double vision, difficulty paying attention to the road and surroundings, and slowed reflexes. Nobody reports these about themselves. You read them off the guest.

Where alcohol goes

The blood carries alcohol to almost everything. Most of your organs and tissues are exposed to the same amount of alcohol as your blood. The liver is exposed to more.

That last point explains the shape of the whole system. One organ handles the load for the whole body, and the rest of the body waits on it.

The liver does the work

Your liver eliminates alcohol. About 10% of it leaves another way, through urine, sweat and breathing. Everything else waits for the liver.

While it waits, it works. Alcohol continues to circulate through the body until the liver eliminates it. A guest who stops ordering has not stopped being affected. The alcohol already in them is still in the blood and still reaching the brain.

What BAC means and what Ontario does with it

BAC is short for blood alcohol concentration, the amount of alcohol in a person's blood. Ontario writes its driving law in BAC numbers.

• 0.08 or more: you can face charges. A first time brings an immediate 90-day licence suspension, a 7-day vehicle impoundment, an 8-hour education course, and a $550 penalty.
• 0.05 to 0.079: the warn range. You can face charges here too. A first time brings an immediate 7-day licence suspension, an 8-hour education course, and a $250 penalty.
• Zero: some drivers are allowed no alcohol in their system at all.

Ontario's zero tolerance law covers four groups of drivers:

• anyone age 21 or under
• a driver of any age holding a G1, G2, M1 or M2 licence
• anyone driving a vehicle that needs an A to F driver's licence or a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (CVOR)
• anyone driving a road-building machine

Those drivers sit in your room every shift. The 20-year-old celebrating a new job, the G2 driver who brought three friends to your patio, the tradesperson whose truck carries a CVOR: for all of them the legal amount is none. Not one beer with dinner.

So a guest who mentions they are driving has just told you something you can act on. Canada's health guidance names driving a motor vehicle as one of the situations where no alcohol is safest. Ontario adds that alcohol-impaired driving is one of the leading causes of death on its roads.

Why closing time tests you

Your service ends at a fixed hour. The alcohol in your guests does not.

Two things run past last call. The drinks poured in the last half hour may not have reached full effect yet, because how long alcohol takes to affect a person varies a lot. And everything already absorbed keeps circulating until the liver eliminates it.

Nothing on your menu takes that job off the liver. About 10% of alcohol leaves through urine, sweat and breathing.

Coffee is not on that list. Water, food and fresh air are not on it either. They can make a guest more comfortable, and a comfortable guest is not a sober one.

Before last call, settle the ride home. That is the point where a guest can still call someone, split a taxi, or hand over keys without a fight. Ask after last call and you are negotiating with a person whose judgment is slower than it was when they sat down.

The trap to expect on the test

The test likes the word "depressant". A question may describe a guest who is loud, cheerful and full of energy, then offer "stimulant" as an answer. Alcohol is a depressant. The lively behaviour comes from its effect on the brain's pleasure and reward centres.

Sobering-up questions work the same way. Coffee, a cold shower, a large meal or a walk outside may all appear as options. Alcohol keeps circulating until the liver eliminates it, and none of those options is the liver.

Watch the BAC numbers too. A question may put 0.05 forward as the point where trouble starts, or offer a small legal allowance for a young driver. The warn range starts at 0.05 and carries a suspension of its own. For the zero tolerance groups, any alcohol is too much.

Recap

• Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. It slows brain functions and thought processes, and can affect breathing and heart rate.
• It also activates the brain's pleasure and reward centres, so a guest can feel relaxed, disinhibited or euphoric while their brain function is already slowing.
• Most organs and tissues get the same amount of alcohol as the blood. The liver gets more.
• The liver eliminates alcohol. About 10% leaves through urine, sweat and breathing. The rest keeps circulating until the liver deals with it.
• Ontario BAC law: 0.08 or more brings charges, 0.05 to 0.079 is the warn range, and zero applies to drivers 21 or under, G1, G2, M1 and M2 holders, A to F and CVOR drivers, and road-building machine operators.
• Effects run past last call. Settle the ride home before you stop serving.