
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 5, 1994                   TAG: 9407050013
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LOW-ALCOHOL BEER STILL PUSHES LIMIT

Q: I've acquired a taste for low-alcohol beer, and this product says it has 0.5 percent alcoholic content by volume. Could anyone possibly drink enough of this to raise your blood-alcohol content to 0.08, which as of July 1 is the state's new standard for driving under the influence? D.J., Roanoke

A: Yes.

Low-alcohol beer has between half and three-quarters the potency of "regular" beer, says Scott Geller, a Virginia Tech psychology professor who's won awards in the science of human behavior.

Geller says the alcohol content of most beers varies a bit from one batch to another, but he estimates it would take anywhere from 1 1/2 to two low-alcohol beers to equal a regular beer.

Some readers will recall a study last March, paid for by this newspaper, in which about eight Virginia Tech students got drunk in a scientific test to see how many beers it took to put them over the 0.08 threshold.

Geller conducted that study.

His conclusion was that a person who weighs 150 pounds or more can consume two beers in one hour with food and stay under the 0.08 mark.

Three beers tipped some of the students over the limit.

So, presumably, three low-alcohol beers in an hour would leave a 150-pounder below the 0.08 level. This is not an airtight formula by any means, though. Some people metabolize the alcohol - that is, get drunk - faster.

Geller also points out that light beer is somewhat lower in alcohol content as well as lower in calories, so lite is a way to consume less alcohol.

Fireworks stands

Q: I've noticed stands going up to sell fireworks. I thought it was against the law to sell fireworks in Virginia. Mrs. H, Roanoke

A: Behind the state code's legal language about when it's illegal to make, carry or sell fireworks are a couple of key, er, holes.

One provision allows the use and sale of certain fireworks on private property.

In fact, our local governments issue business licenses for fireworks stands if the merchant antes up several hundred dollars and meets some modest safety standards.

A spokesman for the city Fire Department said the fireworks must be what's called Class A. That means they shouldn't be powerful firecrackers, or detonate in the air, or fly far enough to fall onto a neighbor's property.

Someone in your neighborhood may have put some rocket-like stuff into the sky last night. Chances are they bought them in South Carolina or Tennessee, where the bigger stuff is available.

There's enough permission in Virginia's law to make stringent enforcement nearly impossible, and the evidence usually gets burned anyway.

None of this should overtake common sense, though. Place fireworks on the ground before lighting the fuse. Never hold 'em and throw 'em; some people have lost their eyesight doing this.

Keep a hose nearby. Many fireworks are made without much quality control.

Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by CNB