5 Alcohol Myths People Should Never Trust
As a server or bartender, you’ve probably heard every “trick in the book” from patrons enjoying a night of drinking on the town. Unfortunately, myths that surround drinking and public safety are 100% foolish and dangerous to the public and your establishment.
As a TABC certified employee, it’s your job to safely serve alcohol and know when to cut a person off. The next time you hear one of these myths slur from the mouth of an intoxicated guest, here are some facts to keep in mind.
“I can have a drink an hour and still be good to drive.”
The reality of this myth is that your body needs more than an hour to get the alcohol of one drink out of your system. With that in mind, continuing to drink every hour only adds to the amount of alcohol coursing through your bloodstream.
Two things many of your customers don’t realize are:
- Not all drinks are made equal. That is, not every drink is just “one drink.” A 22-oz draft beer is not just one drink, and neither are many mixed drinks.
- Some studies have shown it can actually take around 90 minutes, maybe longer depending on a variety of factors, for the body to fully metabolize one alcoholic beverage.
“Liquor before beer…”
We all know the saying from college: “Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear. Beer before liquor, you’ve never been sicker.” The truth is the order of what you drink isn’t really that important, but a variety of other factors will impact your customer’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), level of intoxication, and how hungover they are the following day. These factors include gender, muscle-to-fat ratio, body weight and type, type and timing of food, and fatigue. What’s the biggest factor determining the severity of a hangover? Hydration.
“Coffee will sober me up…”
One of the most common myths is that coffee is the key to processing alcohol more quickly on a night of binge drinking. The reason why this myth exists is that caffeine will make you more alert and might allow you to feel more sober. The problem is, that the alert feeling won’t fix your impairment to make wise decisions or safely get behind the wheel.
Coffee may be a useful tool the following morning when you’re hungover, but the only thing that can sober a person up is time.
“Don’t break the seal!”
Alcohol disrupts the arginine vasopressin hormone that helps your body to conserve water. Alcohol prevents this hormone from reaching your kidneys and ensures that your bladder fills up quicker while drinking. This is one of the primary reasons why excessive alcohol consumption leads to dehydration.
Our advice is to not hold your urine in. Alcohol can actually irritate the bladder and lead to health problems that could easily be avoided with a few trips to the restroom.
“Darker beer has higher alcohol content than a lighter beer.”
Please, don’t fall for this one. No matter the color of the beer, the difference in the ABV of the drink isn’t impacted. There are actually some lighter beers that have higher alcohol content than dark beers like Guinness.
New Employees Need TABC Certification? Get Help From TABC On The Fly!
If you own or manage a location that serves alcohol in Texas, your employees need to be TABC certified. TABC On The Fly is a purely online certification course that allows your staff to get certified on their own time. No calling out for classes here. Our course allows students to pace themselves while also adhering to a schedule that keeps your business moving. Register your team today!
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