Latvia claims world record in drinking

RIGA (Reuters) - Latvian police say a drunk picked up with around twice the blood-alcohol level considered deadly has probably set a world record but will wake with a hangover to match.

The unidentified middle-aged man was unconscious but stable after a blood test showed 7.22 parts per million of alcohol, police spokeswoman Ieva Zvidre said.

An average person would vomit at around 1.2, lose consciousness at 3.0 and stop breathing at a level of about 4.0 parts per million, Zvidre said, adding: "This is one for the Guinness Book of Records."

Emergency ward head Martins Sics told reporters there was no record of anybody having survived such a dose, even in neighbouring Russia which takes pride in its vodka-guzzling traditions.

'World record' drinking man fails to make Guinness book

A Latvian man who has amazed medics by surviving what police have described as a "world record drinking binge" has been told he won't get his name in the Guinness Book of Records.

Latvian police say the middle-aged man consumed around twice the blood-alcohol level considered deadly.

They say they found the unidentified drinker in an unconscious state, but medics found he was stable and recorded 7.22 parts per million of alcohol in a blood test, police spokeswoman Ieva Zvidre said.

An average person would vomit at around 1.2, lose consciousness at 3.0 and stop breathing at a level of about 4.0 parts per million, Ms Zvidre said, adding: "This is one for the Guinness Book of Records."

It is not known what alcoholic beverage the man drank.

Emergency ward head Martins Sics said there is no record of anybody having survived such a dose, even in neighbouring Russia which takes pride in its vodka-guzzling traditions. "He won't remember a thing when he comes to," Dr Sics said, reports gateway2russia.com.

A Guinness world records spokesman said: "We don't condone drinking large amounts of alcohol as it would just encourage people to drink more and more. We do not keep records on how much a single person has drunk."

However, the records book says Latvia is not one of the highest countries for total alcohol consumption per capita. Luxembourg is rated number one in the world for alcohol consumption, with each of its residents downing an average 12.4 litres of pure alcohol in a year. It is followed by the Czech Republic, whose citizens drank 10.9 litres, and Ireland which increased its intake to 10.8 litres.

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