Proponents of the Straw theory have two primary claims. First, when drinking through a straw, people usually drink faster than if they were drinking regularly. Because they are ingesting more alcohol in a shorter period of time, they will clearly get more drunk faster. Secondly, a straw creates a vacuum, which eliminates oxygen. The feeling of intoxication is created in part, because of the lack of oxygen entering us, so when we form a vacuum with a straw, we should naturally get more drunk. Additionally, by creating a vacuum with the straw, the boiling point of alcohol falls, and alcohol vapors are created within the straw, then inhaled into the lungs. This gets the alcohol into the bloodstream much faster than normal ingestion via the stomach.
However, many opponents of the straw method say that although this science is true, the difference would be so negligible it wouldn't even be noticeable. The New York Times even went a step further in ts Q&A section, writing that "There is no evidence that people get drunk faster if they drink alcoholic beverages through a straw, according to the National Institute on Alcoholic Abuse." And even the folks at Mythbusters weighed in on the topic, when it was posted in the community forums of their website, claiming that it was "Busted."
