ATHENS, Ala. — Like most college students, Philip Turner would find his energy waning in the afternoons. To keep his energy level high enough to get through classes and studying, the Athens State University junior would grab a Red Bull or MDX energy drink.

“I usually kept a bunch of them in reserve, just in case,” Turner said.

But he discovered after an initial short burst of energy, he was left more tired than he was before.

“It just gives you a high for about a minute,” he said. “It didn’t really help a lot.”

As a chemistry major, Turner also was curious what might be in the drinks other than caffeine. He decided they contained too many chemicals, such as the organic acid taurine, and stopped drinking them.

“I just went back to water,” he said.

But more and more, students are getting their perks through caffeinated products including drinks, gum, candy, sunflower seeds, pills, lip balm and oatmeal.

Web sites such as energyfiend.com, thinkgeek.com and xodide.com are doing brisk business in products ranging from Shower Shock caffeinated soap to NRG caffeinated potato chips.

Everyone agrees it’s easier than ever before to get a caffeine fix. But experts disagree whether the trend is harmful.





America’s fuel





For decades, coffee has been a centerpiece of American society.

“You can’t spit in an American city without hitting a Starbucks,” said Bob Thompson, professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, who taught a class a few years ago on the Starbucks phenomenon. He said people can be seen everywhere drinking coffee — on their way to work, in movies, at the office. “Almost more than anything else, it is present.”

Phrases such as “coffee break,” “coffee shop,” and “come up for some coffee” illustrate how we socialize around the beverage, Thompson said.

“One could make the argument that the United States is a caffeine culture. If Paris was a wine culture, this is definitely a caffeine culture,” Thompson said. “Just as this nation is kind of physically run on petroleum, the fuel for the human beings is definitely coffee. Automobiles all have a cup holder that’s every bit as important as the fuel tank door in the side.”

The shift in this trend is not a change in the type of fuel but how it’s delivered, he said.

“It used to be caffeine was the fuel for the American machine but it was also exclusively associated with coffee,” he said. “Now we have all these kinds of caffeine delivery systems — drinks, pills, gum. Caffeine and coffee are now being separated as two different things. Used to, if you said I’ve got to get my caffeine fix it always meant you’re going to go get some coffee.”

While Thompson does not see any difference in the physiological impact — “caffeine is caffeine,” he says — he does see a societal one. Energy drinks and products are more likely to be consumed alone rather than in groups.

“Coffee has got all of these social elements,” he said. “Now with Red Bull and all of these high powered energy drinks and chewable candies, they’re stripped of all of these things.”

Thompson said while it is possible people are consuming more caffeine because they are getting larger doses of it in these new products than they did in coffee, he does not feel it is enough of a difference to have a big impact.

“Caffeine is caffeine,” he said, but he added, “To some extent it is a wait and see on high-energy drinks. Caffeine is not a terribly regulated substance.”

While Thompson feels the word “addiction” is too easily applied, he has seen the desire for coffee override other needs.

“The delicious substance of caffeine works its way into our greatest desires,” he said. “

I’ve seen people who need to pull over and get some coffee and that begins to exceed anything else they’re concerned with. It’s a powerful desire one has to continue to dose oneself.”



Want vs. need?





The morning cup of coffee is more than a habit for many people, said Beverly Sedlacek, assistant professor for psychiatric nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

“As far as I’m concerned, caffeine is a legalized substance that a lot of people are addicted to,” she said. “We have relegated it to being an acceptable form of addiction.”

She cites withdrawal symptoms as evidence.

“There are adverse affects when people stop using it — anxiety, people are excitable, restless and irritable,” she said. “They have to have it to feel better. There are some physiological changes that take place.”

Sedlacek said the time needed to overcome this addiction depends on the person. She advises some of the patients she counsels to try a simple diet.

“Increase water intake, eat more fruits, vegetables, fibers — it helps draw out the caffeine and get it out of the system. A simpler diet is less stimulating,” she said.

A study she read determined that the more stimulating foods and drinks we consume, the more prone we are to ingesting alcohol. “I think there’s a lot of truth to that,” Sedlacek said.

In addition, she said caffeine has been connected to health problems such as birth defects and infertility, which is why pregnant women are cautioned about caffeine consumption, and osteoporosis.

“Caffeine leaches calcium out of the body,” she said. “You stand greater risk of osteoporosis.”

Young people, a group that seems to be consuming many of the latest energy products, should be careful which habits they develop.

“I counsel teens to take care of your health now. You are what you eat, you are what you drink,” Sedlacek said. “I think we’re not in touch with our bodies. We don’t reason from cause to effect.”



‘How much is safe?’



Marina Kushner, spokeswoman for the Caffeine Awareness Alliance and author of “The Truth About Caffeine,” said caffeine is a drug.

“Caffeine is so socially acceptable it is seldom viewed as a drug,” she said. “Like all the others, people use caffeine to stimulate the brain.”

The stimulant releases dopamine, Kushner said, creating alertness and “emotional highs,” which is addictive. She said about five cups of coffee a day can addict an adult but in children the amount is much smaller.

“The biggest delusion is that we need caffeine to wake up in the morning,” she said. According to the American Association for Poison Control, between 1989 and 2005, 73,626 cases of caffeine overdose were reported in children ages 6 to 19. Of those, 35,500 were hospitalized and 29 died, Kushner said.

“Caffeine is toxic in large doses — it causes heart arrhythmia, coma, even death,” she said.

A small cup of coffee contains about 250 milligrams of caffeine, Kushner said, and about 750 milligrams per day is considered a “danger point,” at which a person can develop overdose symptoms.

“Caffeine is not an innocent substance,” she said. “How much is enough? How much is safe?”



Kelly Kazek writes for The News Courier in Athens, Ala.