The majority of the alcohol you drink is broken
down by the liver. How long does the liver take
to break down the alcohol in a "unit" drink
(8 grams alcohol) of an alcohol beverage?
The liver breaks down the majority
of alcohol consumed (95%),
eventually into carbon dioxide and
water. Your liver needs an hour to
break down a standard glass of an
alcoholic drink, and there’s nothing
you can do to speed this up. This
explains why someone who has
drunk a lot the night before can still
be under the influence, or ‘over the
limit’ the following morning. The
last 5% is excreted via urine,
breath and perspiration.