Street Names
Coffee, Tea, Cola, Cocoa, Energy drinks V, Red Bull, Impulse
Brief Description
Caffeine is a plant alkaloid, found in numerous plant varieties. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. Beverages that have caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy popularity great enough to make caffeine the world's most common psychoactive drug.
Short term Effects
- Less than 200 mg of caffeine (1 or 2 cups of coffee) can make you more alert and less tired.
It can also increase your ability to do physical work and improve your thinking. - Small amounts of caffeine can also cause an increase in blood pressure and urination.
- Larger amounts (600 mg or more) can make you feel irritable, restless and nervous.
You may also experience tremors, insomnia and rapid, irregular heartbeat.
When taken before bed, caffeine may interfere with your sleep. - Drinking coffee or tea during or after meals decreases iron absorption.
If you need to take iron, you should consider avoiding caffeine at mealtimes. - People who suffer from panic attacks should avoid caffeine in large amounts,
as it can trigger nervousness and anxiety. - Death from a caffeine overdose is very rare.
You would have to inject at least 3.9 g of caffeine or swallow about 10 g.
However, much lower doses of caffeine can cause death in children. - Caffeine does not help drunk people to sober up.
Long-Term Effects
- Daily use of low to moderate amounts of caffeine (1 to 3 cups of coffee)
by healthy adults does not appear to cause any bad effects. - Regular use of more than 600 mg may have short-term effects such as
those listed above or long-term effects such as chronic insomnia,
constant anxiety and depression, and stomach upset. - There is some evidence that consumption of more than 300 mg of caffeine
(i.e., about 2 to 3 cups of coffee) in a day is associated
with miscarriages and low birth weight babies.
Women should consider limiting or eliminating caffeine intake while pregnant.
Caffeine overdose
Significant injury or death from caffeine overdose can happen, but is very rare. A person would have to drink 5 to 10 grams of caffeine (or 80 cups of strong coffee, in one sitting) to experience an overdose. Effects of caffeine poisoning can include uncontrolled shaking (tremors), nausea, vomiting, irregular or rapid heart rate, panic attack and confusion. A severe case would be if a person became delirious or had a seizure. Seizure can result in them being unable to breathe, causing death.
In children, caffeine poisoning can happen with much smaller doses, such as up to one gram of caffeine (equal to around 12 energy drinks).
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