How Long Does A Pint Stay In Your System
In the UK, as well as many other regions across the world, it is commonplace to go down to a bar or pub ‘for a pint’, but what is a pint?
Concerning alcohol, a pint is a measurement of the substance served in bars and restaurants – though this differs in actual quantity depending on where you are in the world.
The UK, as a main example, serves pints of alcohol of approximately 568ml as based on the imperial measurement system. In other countries where the metric system is used (such as the United States, Australia, and New Zealand), pints often vary in size depending on regional and legal differences.
A US liquid pint, for example, would be around 473ml, whereas in New Zealand, there is no legal standardisation, meaning that a pint in a bar can vary anywhere from 400ml to 570ml.
As a substance, this quantity of alcohol can stay in the body for different lengths of time depending on many factors; that is the key focus of this blog post. For the sake of this blog post, the term ‘pint’ will most often refer to the UK pint, and any other deviations will be noted.
Why are individuals concerned about alcohol in their bodies?
As alcohol is considered to be a drug, it is therefore important in many different situations that individuals are aware of the quantity of the substance in their body after drinking.
For example, driving with alcohol in the system is illegal in many countries, often coming with a hefty fine or, in some cases, jail time and/or future restrictions concerning vehicles.
In addition, some careers and jobs require employees to be alcohol-free, especially if they are working in important fields or those that require complete focus and/or control in specific situations.
Examples of vital jobs that require their employees to be drug-free for drug testing include:
- Law enforcement and corrections – individuals working as a police officer or prison officer (and similar) are often required to complete drug testing to ensure safety for themselves and those around them.
- Transportation – bus and train drivers, as well as pilots, are always required to be completely sober during their daily tasks, often leading to thorough testing.
- Construction – in a high-risk and attention-to-safety-driven workplace, workers in the construction industry are often required to prove that they are safe to operate machinery and tools around them.
Many other careers also require drug testing; this is a short list of examples, and all workplaces are required to make employees aware of the necessity of drug testing, as well as the time and location of this.
How long does alcohol stay in your system?
Depending on the type of detection test used, traces of alcohol in the body can be found for up to 90 days or more – though this also impacted by a number of other factors that relate to the individual, but more about this will be covered later in the blog post.
In the UK, the most common form of drug testing comes in the form of breath testing, often done at the roadside.
If the individual is found with alcohol (or other drugs) in their system at the time of the drug test, they will often be taken to the nearest police station to complete further testing. These often include blood tests, and occasionally other methods.
The following subheadings outline the key forms of drug testing, as well as how long alcohol will appear in these different tests.
1. Breath and blood
As the most common of the forms of alcohol testing, this method is also the most time-sensitive.
For example, a breath test or blood test can detect alcohol in the system from anywhere between 6 to 12 hours or more, meaning that an individual who goes out and drinks in the evening may still test positively for alcohol in the system when they drive to work the next day.
The alcohol breath test (ABT), however, was developed in the 1950s when less was known about alcohol’s impact on physiological processes in the body, suggesting that it may not be as beneficial as it was once thought to be (1).
2. Saliva
The alcohol saliva strip test (AST) is another method that can be used to determine if an individual has alcohol in their system and how much.
Generally, this method is most commonly used in hospital settings when medical professionals may be unaware of the individual’s activities before requiring emergency care (2).
This could give a good idea of their injuries or any additional caution that needs to be taken before the administration of further care, as well as doing so in a timely manner. An AST test can detect alcohol in the body for up to 12 hours.
3. Urine
Often considered to be the greatest deterrent for alcohol consumption in workplaces and sometimes schools, urine testing is another method used to test whether or not someone has alcohol in their system, as well as the quantities of this.
Depending on the specialisation of the test and the quality of the sample collected, alcohol may be detected in the body for 12 to 24 hours – sometimes 72 hours or more for highly specialised testing.
This is why this is the most common method used in workplaces; it has been shown to be a great deterrent for individuals in specific fields of work and school (3).
4. Hair
As a final testing method for determining how long alcohol stays in the system, some detection services employ the use of hair testing.
By taking a sample of the individual’s hair strands, specialised testing is able to pick up on alcohol biomarkers that have been left behind as a result of the individual’s alcohol consumption.
Though a hair test is generally used to determine an individual’s alcohol consumption over a longer period of time (the more alcohol is consumed, the more it is likely to leave biomarkers), it can be used in the short term, too.
Generally, alcohol is able to be detected in the hair for up to 90 days or more, in some cases.
What affects how long alcohol stays in your system?
So, what else affects how long a pint (or other quantity of alcohol) may stay in the body?
As every individual is different, there are many different factors that can also influence how long alcohol can be detected in the body for.
Metabolism, for example, is the biggest variation in this; metabolism affects how quickly substances and products are broken down in the body.
Therefore, someone with a high metabolic rate would be less likely to see traces of alcohol in their body relative to someone who has a slower metabolic rate.
Body mass is another big altering factor, as an individual who has a lower body mass is more likely to have a higher level of alcohol detected in their system due to the ratio of the quantity of alcohol to their smaller body mass.
As a final point, an individual’s sex can also greatly impact how long alcohol can be detected in the body for.
Though not true in all cases, women generally have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio – something which can mean that alcohol stays in the body longer in some cases.
Alcohol as an addictive substance
As a final point, it is important to remember that alcohol is one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in the world, often requiring lengthy rehabilitation and treatment programmes to overcome its effects.
An addiction can never be truly cured, so if you or someone you know is struggling with their alcohol consumption, it is vital that help is sought as soon as possible.
As a physically addictive substance, alcohol is also incredibly dangerous to withdraw from, especially if the individual has a long history of alcohol misuse and/or abuse.
Many individuals require slow withdrawals from alcohol to ensure their physical health and to avoid any life-threatening complications that may arise.
Get further information, support, and advice with Rehab Recovery today
To learn more about alcohol as a drug, its impact on the body, and how long this can last, visit our information pages across Rehab Recovery’s website.
In addition, individuals can also contact a member of a friendly and professional addiction advice team on 0800 088 66 86 today.
No matter who you are, where you are, or how serious or trivial you may believe your addiction to be, it is never too early to start seeking help, but it can be too late.
Contact Rehab Recovery today to see how we can help you or someone you know.
References
[1] Hlastala, M.P., 1998. The alcohol breath test—a review. Journal of Applied Physiology, 84(2), pp.401-408.
[2] Thokala, M.R., Dorankula, S.P.R., Muddana, K. and Velidandla, S.R., 2014. Alcohol saliva strip test. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research: JCDR, 8(3), p.307.
[3] Jaffee, W.B., Trucco, E., Teter, C., Levy, S. and Weiss, R.D., 2008. Focus on alcohol & drug abuse: ensuring validity in urine drug testing. Psychiatric Services, 59(2), pp.140-142.
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