Identifying and Assessing Intoxication
What intoxication actually looks like
Intoxication is a cluster of observable signs, not a single clue. Assess across four channels:
- Speech: slurring, rambling, slowed or overly loud talk, repeating themselves.
- Balance and coordination: swaying, gripping furniture, stumbling, spilling drinks, fumbling money or a phone.
- Behaviour: aggression, over-familiarity, emotional swings, drowsiness, loss of inhibition.
- Appearance: bloodshot or glazed eyes, flushed face, dishevelled clothing, vomiting.
Context matters: body weight, food, hydration, medication, fatigue, tolerance and time all affect how fast someone shows signs. A small person who has eaten nothing may be affected after two drinks; a heavy regular drinker may mask impairment - masking is not sobriety.
Traps in exam questions
- Counting drinks as proof - a question describing "only two drinks but unsteady on their feet" wants you to assess the person, not the tally.
- Assuming tolerance means safe - tolerance changes appearance, not the legal test.
- Ignoring prescription medication or other substances - combined effects are a red flag, and you are not required to diagnose.
- Waiting for a customer to "prove" intoxication - the standard is reasonable belief, not certainty.
- Confusing a medical emergency with intoxication - diabetic episodes, head injury and stroke can mimic drunkenness. If in doubt, treat it as medical.
Worked rule of thumb
Use "one sign is a question, three signs is an answer." One wobble may be a shoe; a slur plus a stumble plus an aggressive outburst is enough to refuse service. Record what you actually saw ("could not stand unaided, speech slurred") rather than conclusions ("was drunk").