Blood alcohol converter
Convert blood alcohol between the percent used in the US, the per mille used across Europe, and the breath readings police machines print.
That's about the same as the US limit. Information only: legal limits and testing rules differ by country.
What it means
Where does that sit?
Information only, and never a defense. Breath conversions use the standard 2100:1 ratio, which varies between people and over time.
Every unit
Your reading in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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0.08 % = 0.8 ‰ = 80 mg/100 mL
Shift the decimal point and change the name. Every legal limit in the world is one of these three numbers wearing different clothes.
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Breath instead of blood
Alcohol crosses from blood into the air in the lungs at a roughly fixed ratio, about 2100 to 1. That is what lets a roadside machine measure blood alcohol without taking blood.
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The ratio is an average
The real blood-to-breath ratio ranges from about 1700 to 2400 between people, and changes while you are still absorbing. Evidential machines are deliberately set to read low.
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Popular blood alcohol conversions
Background
About blood alcohol units
The same reading is written three ways. The US uses percent BAC, grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood, so its limit is 0.08. Most of Europe uses per mille, giving 0.5 for the same idea. The UK uses milligrams per 100 mL, where the limit is 80.
They are all the same measurement: 0.08 % = 0.8 ‰ = 80 mg/100 mL.