Drinking coffee after drinking alcohol:
- Decreases blood alcohol concentration.
- Cancels the effect of the alcohol.
- Has no effect on blood alcohol concentration. ✓
- Increases blood alcohol concentration.
Answer: C. Has no effect on blood alcohol concentration.
Drinking coffee after drinking alcohol has no effect on blood alcohol concentration.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook lists drinking black coffee among the common myths about getting sober, alongside cold showers and exercise. It says plainly that these things will not make a person sober. What actually clears alcohol from the body is time, based on body weight, how many drinks were consumed, and food intake, at roughly one hour per drink. Coffee does not remove alcohol from your system, so it does not change your blood alcohol concentration.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Decreases blood alcohol concentration. — Coffee does not lower blood alcohol concentration; the handbook says only time, body weight, number of drinks, and food intake affect how alcohol is processed.
- B. Cancels the effect of the alcohol. — The handbook calls coffee a myth for sobering up, so it does not cancel the effects of alcohol at all.
- D. Increases blood alcohol concentration. — Coffee adds no alcohol to your body, and the handbook never says it raises blood alcohol concentration.
Remember it
Think of coffee as a mask, not a fix: it can make you feel more alert, but the alcohol is still in your blood until time passes.