Intoxication occurs when the first drink of alcohol commences its passage through the body. Alcohol can affect a person's behaviour within minutes of that first drink.

When alcohol builds up in a person’s bloodstream it affects behaviour. At some stage, the loss of control becomes so great that the person is considered to be "unduly intoxicated".

The time taken will vary from person to person and the following factors can affect timing:

• gender
• size
• fitness
• health
• state of mind
• rate of drinking
• food
• medication

Liquor servers should understand how much alcohol they are providing to their customers.

Different drinks contain different amounts of alcohol. If you examine the labels on containers of beer, wine and spirits you will notice that they state the concentration of alcohol as a percentage per 100ml of volume (eg. 4.8% alcohol/volume for regular beer).

The concept of a "standard drink" is a measure not of how much liquid has been consumed, but how much pure alcohol has entered the system. The National Health and Medical Research Council defines a standard drink as one which contains 10 grams of pure alcohol.

10 grams =
• 1 pot of full strength beer (285ml)
• 100ml of sparkling wine
• 100ml of red or white wine
• 60ml of port
• 30ml of spirits

DON’T assume your glasses hold one standard drink (eg. many wine glasses hold amounts greater than 100ml).

By 'topping up' a half empty glass you prevent the patron from keeping a check on the amount of alcohol they are consuming. Liquor servers should ask patrons prior to topping up or refilling a glass.

Staff should use common sense in determining whether a person is unduly intoxicated. There are several signs which, in combination, may indicate that a person has had too much to drink. These include:

• mood changes
• slurring or mistakes in speech
• raised speaking voice
• clumsiness, fumbling with change
• loss of balance or co-ordination, swaying or staggering
• confusion, lack of ability to hear or respond
• bumping into or knocking over furniture
• falling down
• dozing while sitting at a bar or table
• crude behaviour
• spilling drinks or the inability to find one's mouth with glass
• inappropriate sexual advances
• aggression or belligerence
• inability to light a cigarette

(Be aware some patrons may exhibit the above behavioural signs because of some physical impairment eg, slurring of speech as a result of a stroke).

It is up to the licensee or management to decide whether the patron is removed or allowed to remain while staff attend to the problem. It may be your policy that staff call a cab and offer non-alcoholic drinks while waiting.

Commonsense should be used to determine if it is more appropriate to allow the patron to stay or remove them from the establishment. Remember, your responsibility for the patron behaviour extends to the vicinity of your premises.

If you do allow an unduly intoxicated person to stay, it should only occur whilst you or your staff are taking some action such as calling and waiting for a cab. The intoxicated person should not be allowed to remain for the rest of the evening.

If you allow the patron to stay for a short time, all other bar staff must be notified to ensure they don’t serve liquor to the patron who has already been refused service. Similarly, if you are nearing a shift change for staff, the new staff should be informed of the circumstances.

• have glasses or jugs of water available for patrons who want to ‘space’ their drinks, or for those that are driving
• encourage the consumption of low alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks
• provide free food or cheap snacks
• reconsider bulk sales. In the case of beer, be discriminating in the use of jugs. With wine, consider offering all wines on your wine list by the glass as well as the bottle, or stocking a wider range of half bottles
• ensure that customers understand that even at "all inclusive" nights (eg $50 banquets with food and drink supplied) you reserve the right to refuse liquor to any patron who appears to be unduly intoxicated
• adjust your prices to encourage moderation rather than intoxication. This may include low and non-alcoholic drinks that are priced lower than full strength drinks.