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U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Concerns raised about dangers of powdered caffeine

Laura Ungar
USA TODAY
Package of Hard Rhino brand caffeine powder

As the new school year gets underway, poison control officials across the nation are sounding the alarm about powdered caffeine, used by some teens to boost workouts, weight loss or energy.

It has been implicated in more than two dozen recent illnesses and in the death of a high school wrestler and prom king in Ohio.

Many poison control officials want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to restrict the use of the increasingly popular powder, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is calling for an outright ban. FDA officials say they are collecting information and will consider regulatory action, and they urge consumers to avoid the product in the meantime.

"I drink coffee … We're not trying to get rid of caffeine. It is just this form and this dose," says Henry Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. "It's like going to buy firecrackers and someone handing you a stick of dynamite. This is frighteningly dangerous. You can't have 16- and 17-year-olds buying something off the Internet and playing with dynamite."

The problem, officials say, is that the powder is so concentrated that it's easy to overdose. One serving is a sixteenth of a teaspoon, which is so small most people don't have a way to measure it. Also, it's often used in homemade energy shakes along with other ingredients measured in large scoops. People also mix it into drinks to make them more alert — figuring caffeine is safe because it's in sodas, energy drinks and coffee.

But according to the FDA, which issued a warning about powdered caffeine in July, a teaspoon is roughly equal to the amount in 25 cups of coffee. Very high levels of caffeine can cause rapid or erratic heartbeat, seizures and death.

So far this year, Spiller says, the National Poison Data System lists 30 cases of powdered caffeine-related problems — some extremely serious — reported to poison control centers nationally from Indiana, California, Texas, Ohio and other states.

Ohio had three: Two men suffered kidney failure, and Logan Stiner died in May. Stiner, 18, was about to graduate from Keystone High School in LaGrange and planned to attend the University of Toledo.

"He was a great kid — polite, smart. He was in the top percent of his class," says Jay Arbaugh, Keystone Local Schools superintendent. "It was a huge loss … and since it was such a personal tragedy here, it has made people more aware of the problem."

Last year, Arbaugh says, "we had no idea" that young athletes were using caffeine powder, which is mostly sold on the Internet. But now, teachers talk about its dangers during lessons on avoiding drugs.

Daniel Fabricant, CEO of the Natural Products Association and a former FDA official, says while overdoses are tragic, misuse is the problem, and caffeine powder is safe when used correctly. The company Hard Rhino, which did not respond to phone and e-mail requests for comment, warns on its website that the powder can be dangerous if misused and advises using a micro scale for exact measurements.

"Before anyone takes a supplement, they should talk to their doctor. If people have a reason to supplement their diet with caffeine, they should follow instructions for use on the labeling," Fabricant says. "People can overdose on anything, even water."

Many poison control officials want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to restrict the use of caffeine powder.

But Blumenthal, a former Connecticut attorney general, insists it should be taken off the market because it represents an imminent hazard, and he believes the FDA can do that. A 1994 law says the agency must show a product is unsafe before restricting its use or seeking to have it taken off the market.

"I know the FDA issued a warning about it, but that seems insufficient," Blumenthal says. "This powdered caffeine has no nutritional value, but it's extremely dangerous."

As the FDA mulls the issue, poison control centers are spreading the word. Spiller expressed his concerns in a Nationwide Children's Hospital blog, the Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center is on high alert for caffeine overdoses, the Texas Panhandle Poison Center recently issued a warning, and the Maryland Poison Center reached out through its back-to-school newsletter.

"It's extremely toxic. There's no good reason to have it out there," says Jeanie Jaramillo, the Texas poison center's managing director. "You take teens who think they're invincible anyway, and you're asking for trouble."

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