NBC News explores the question of whether caffeine can be lethal, in the wake of reports linking five deaths to the consumption of Monster Energy Drinks.
The article says consumption of high levels of caffeine can kill, but the degree of risk depends on the means by which the caffeine is ingested.
For example, the article cites the example of a Connecticut man who died after taking nearly two dozen No-Doz tablets, and notes that the tablet form allowed him to ingest an amount of caffeine that wouldn’t have been logistically possible from caffeine.
“Now the question is whether guzzling energy drinks might be as dangerous as popping No-Doz,” the article states.
The reports about the five deaths came from FDA records, requested by the mother of a 14-year-old girl who consumed two of the Monster Energy Drinks in a 24-hour period, and died from what an autopsy report termed “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.”
The girl’s mother is suing the manufacturer.
The NBC News article mentions a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which says emergency room visits tied to energy drinks have been increasing. The report said the number of emergency department visits involving energy drinks has increased from 1,128 visits in 2005 to 16,053 in 2008 and 13,144 in 2009.
See the article here:
