Caffeine: Is it Possible to Have Too Much of a Good Thing?
Most of us could not get through the day without our favorite caffeine-laden drink. The long history and widespread use of caffeine make us trust both its safety and effectiveness. For one British man, however, an overdose of pure caffeine was fatal. Pure caffeine, available in a wide range of forms, is widely available online and lightly regulated. The most common use of pure caffeine is as a beverage additive. Energy drinks have been found to contain up to 141mg of caffeine per serving, although the naturally occurring caffeine in a large coffee can be more than double that. Sodas fall in the range of 20-55mg of caffeine. None of these products warn of the possible side effects of consuming excessive amounts of caffeine. This is not much of a problem for products with relatively low doses of caffeine, such as soft drinks, but the lack of warnings on containers of pure caffeine is disturbing.
The FDA has classified caffeine as both a food and a drug, depending upon the marketed use, with the regulation of caffeine as a food additive being lax due to its GRAS classification—“generally regarded as safe”—which includes salt, vinegar, and common spices. The FDA has warned about certain possible health problems associated with long-term use, although there has been little attention until recently about the short-term dangers. Currently, the FDA is focusing on the dangers of caffeine added to alcoholic drinks.
Just a week ago, a British man died after ingesting 5,600mg (equivalent to 70 cans of Red Bull) of pure powdered caffeine. Doctors worry about the easy availability online and poor labeling of pure caffeine. The British man had taken two spoonfuls of the caffeine and chased it with an energy drink, although the label indicated that the caffeine should only be taken in doses of one-sixteenth of a teaspoon. Pure caffeine in powdered form is readily available from US-based sellers, although most sellers incorporate the caffeine into some other product (e.g. http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/). None of these products contain warnings about the possibility of an overdose. Caffeine intoxication can occur after consuming as little as 250mg of caffeine with death occurring after consuming around 5,000mg.
Due to the publicity that these cases have received, increased regulation of pure caffeine should follow. The public should be aware of both the possible short- and long-term dangers of caffeine consumption. Moreover, the manufacturers of pure caffeine should prevent its easy purchase online and should add much more noticeable warnings on its products about how only two spoonfuls of its product can kill a grown man.
