40,000 Russians die yearly of alcohol poisoning. With myths like this, it’s no wonder.
“Russian man survives drinking 8 bottles of vodka.”
So read the headline about a Russian man who “miraculously” survived drinking eight bottles of vodka, in which it was reported that the percentage of alcohol in his blood was at least twice the lethal dose. Sorry, I thought, but eight bottles is far more than twice a lethal dose. Then I read, “The man’s blood tests showed that he had drunk at least four liters, or eight bottles of vodka.” Ok I figured, at least they were small (roughly 16-ounce) bottles. Still, I surmised, 132 ounces is too much. Reading further, I learned that the “man’s bulk” saved him, since our alcoholic “hero” is “two meters’ tall and weighs over 100 kilos.” Sorry, but height is irrelevant and 100 kilos is roughly 220 pounds, which still doesn’t wash.
Let’s run the numbers. (Easy instructions can be found in my book, “Get Out of the Way! How to Identify and Avoid a Driver Under the Influence”.) A lethal dose, though undefined in the article, is often considered .35 per cent, but let’s go with .45 per cent. Twice the lethal dose would be .9 per cent. A 200-pound person requires 1 standard drink, which equates to 1.5 ounces of 80-proof vodka, to increase the blood alcohol level (BAL) by .02 per cent. Let’s go with .018 per cent for a 220-pounder.
Divide .9 by .018 to get the number of standard drinks required to get to that toxic BAL, not including the effect of time. We get 50 drinks, which is 75 ounces of liquor, or about 2 ¼ liters. Since our bodies assimilate alcohol at roughly .015 per cent per hour, his BAL would increase to about twice the lethal dose after consuming this much liquor over a six-hour period.
This is a dangerous article, since many reading it might think they can drink nearly four liters and not die. Considering how competitive alcoholics can be and their need to win regardless of costs, many could die trying. Perhaps myths like this account for the fact that 40,000 people die from alcohol poisoning every year in Russia.