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Street Names:
Coffee, tea.
Description:
White, bitter, crystalline substance found
in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa leaves, and kola nuts. Available in tea, coffee,
chocolate, and cola drinks. A cup of instant coffee contains about 66 mg. caffeine,
percolated coffee 74 mg., and drip coffee 112 mg. Cola drinks contain about 35 mg.
per 280 ml can. Chocolate bars contain as much as 20 mg. of caffeine. Caffeine
is also found in some headache pills, pain relievers, cold mixtures, and stimulant pills,
ranging between 30 and 50 mg.
Origin and Medical Uses:
Coffee was introduced into Europe from
Africa some 1,000 years ago. Tea has been used in Asia for a longer period of
time. Caffeine is an ingrediate in many prescription and non-prescription pain
relievers, cold remedies, and stimulant mixtures.
Short Term Effects:
Increased metabolic rate, blood pressure, urination, and
body temperature. Caffeine shortens sleep, stimulates secretion of stomach acid,
decreases appetite, causes hand tremor, impairs the coordination of movement. Large
doses of caffeine can produce headache, nervousness, and delirium. The fatal dose of
pure caffeine is about 3.2 g. taken intravenously, or about 10 g. taken orally.
Long Term Effects:
Regular use of more than 600 mg. a day (about eight cups of
coffee) can cause chronic insomnia, persistent anxiety and depression, and stomach
upset. Heavy use of caffeine should be avoided during pregnancy, since recent
research has identified possible links between heavy caffeine use and birth problems.
Tolerance and Dependence:
Regular consumption of 350 mg. of caffeine (four cups of
coffee) a day leads to a form of physical
dependence. Withdrawal
symptoms include severe headache, irritability, and fatigue.
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