World Drinking Champeen

A World Drinking Record

Fri Dec 19, 8:11 AM ET

RIGA, Latvia (Reuters) - Latvian police said a drunk picked up with around twice the blood-alcohol level considered deadly had probably set a world record but would 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."

The hospital's emergency ward head Martins Sics told reporters there was no record of anybody having survived such a dose, even in neighboring Russia which takes pride in its vodka-guzzling traditions.

"He won't remember a thing when he comes to," Sics said.