Normally we hear about unfortunate overdoses of narcotics in teens, but it turns out caffeine can be deadly, too.
An Ohio teen, Logan Stiner, overdosed on caffeine powder in May and died, and now his family is standing up and urging federal regulators to ban the sales of the product.
Dennis and Katie Stiner, of LaGrange, Ohio, appeared in Washington on Tuesday on behalf of their 18-year-old son. He ingested about 23 times the amount of caffeine found in a typical coffee or soda drink.
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“Before May 27, 2014, we had never heard of ‘caffeine powder.’ Now we think about it every day,” the Stiners said in a meeting with lawmakers.
It turns out that a fatal amount of the caffeine powder is as little as a teaspoon. Just 1/16th of a teaspoon can contain about 200 milligrams of caffeine, roughly the equivalent of two large cups of coffee.
The powder, usually used as a dietary supplement, is available online and isn’t regulated by the FDA the same way sodas and coffee are.
The Stiners met with Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and were joined by Jim and Julie Sweatt, the parents of Wade, a 24-year-old Georgia resident who also died after ingesting caffeine powder.
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“While the dangers are not broadly understood, powdered caffeine is widely available online or in stores with little warning or guidance. That must stop,” Brown said. “While it’s too late to save Logan and Wade from this dangerous substance, we must act quickly before more lives are lost.”
Blumenthal called the stimulant a poison.
“There ought to be a great big ‘skull and bones’ on it, or it should be banned,” he said.
On Tuesday, the FDA released a statement that they are investigating this issue – a further look into what they can do following the required warning label put in place this in July.
In the case of Logan Stiner, a wrestler, an autopsy found that he had more than 70 micrograms of caffeine per milliliter of blood in his system, as much as 23 times the amount found in a typical coffee or soda drink, when he died at his home. Symptoms of caffeine overdose or toxicity include rapid or erratic heartbeat, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea and disorientation.
This is truly an unfortunate case highlighting an issue that requires more awareness and attention to products we might not expect to be so dangerous.
[Photo from flickr user Nina J. G.]
