TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Ethanol A1 - Yip, Luke A2 - Nelson, Lewis S. A2 - Howland, Mary Ann A2 - Lewin, Neal A. A2 - Smith, Silas W. A2 - Goldfrank, Lewis R. A2 - Hoffman, Robert S. Y1 - 2019 N1 - T2 - Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 11e AB - Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is commonly referred to as “alcohol.” This term is somewhat misleading because there are numerous other alcohols. However, ethanol is one of the most commonly used and abused xenobiotics in the world. Its use is pervasive among adolescents and adults of all ages and socioeconomic groups and represents a tremendous financial and social cost.3,228 The ethanol content of alcoholic beverages is expressed by volume percent or by proof. Proof is a measure of the absolute ethanol content of distilled liquor, made by determining its specific gravity at an index temperature. In the United Kingdom, the Customs and Excise Act of 1952 declared proof spirits (100 proof) as those in which the weight of the spirits is 12/13 the weight of an equal volume of distilled water at 11°C (51°F). Thus, 100-proof spirits are 48.24% ethanol by weight or 57.06% by volume. Other spirits are designated over or under proof, with the percentage of variance noted. In the United States, a proof spirit (100 proof) is one containing 50% ethanol by volume. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1163047314 ER -