Blood Alcohol
Sir,—There is a manifest need for clear thinking concerning blood-alcohol concentrations, particularly now that they are a legal matter. Last Saturday “The Press” referred in a court report to “a blood-alcohol count of 214 per cent.” Probably no-one could survive a blood-alcohol concentration in excess of 1 per cent. In plain terms, a blood-alcohol ratio (not a “count”) of 214 per cent means, of course, that the empty blood vessels have been dilated to approximately twice their normal capacity by pure alcohol! The report incorrectly equates 214 per cent blood-alcohol with 214 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. In fact, 0.203 per cent of alcohol in blood is the same ratio as 214 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (taking a mean value of blood density as 1.054). Yours, etc., PAUL MALING. June 15, 1969.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19690617.2.103.5
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32016, 17 June 1969, Page 14
Word Count
139Blood Alcohol Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32016, 17 June 1969, Page 14
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