Caffeine Addiction

Caffeine Addiction

INTRODUCTION

Caffeine helps millions of people wake up and feel better in the morning. It helps them stay awake on the road. It gives them something non-alcoholic to drink socially. And it gives people that extra burst of energy we all seem to need sometimes. But do people realize when they take that sip of coffee, or bite into that bar of chocolate they are contaminating their body with what could be a very dangerous drug? Because that’s just what caffeine is - a drug. According to Richard J. Gilbert, Ph.D., writer of The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Drugs: Caffeine: The Most Popular Stimulant, most people only recognize two types of drugs. The first type consists of drugs you receive from doctors or pharmacists. The second includes substances such as marijuana, heroin, nicotine, and alcohol. People don’t acknowledge caffeine as a drug only because the use of it is so wide spread. But not only is caffeine a drug, it is the world’s most popular drug. Individuals encounter it on a daily basis, but many people do not realize why abuse of caffeine is a problem; nevertheless, all people should be aware of the problems caused by the drug caffeine to better prevent themselves from addiction. And just like any other drug, effects of caffeine are far-reaching and can be quite serious.

There are many products that contain caffeine that we use every day. A 50-gram bar of chocolate contains between 5 and 60 mg of caffeine, increasing with the quality of the chocolate (Cohis 1). Even one single cup of hot chocolate contains about 4mg of caffeine (Cohis 1). On a positive note, scientists suggest airline passengers to consume a bar of chocolate before embarking on long-haul flights. The high altitude and long length of immobility can cause the blood to thicken. Large blood clots or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can form in the leg and if the clot travels to the heart or lungs, it can be fatal. Chocolate contains healthy chemicals called flavonoids that...