Are there long-term health consequences to caffeine consumption or intoxication?
There’s a lot of ambiguity. We do know caffeine is not helpful for people with anxiety disorders or insomnia, stomach problems and heart problems, and it probably should be avoided in pregnancy. There are some medical risks to caffeine use, but it’s not like alcohol or cigarette smoking, which are associated with life-threatening health risks. I don’t think we should run around thinking caffeine is dangerous in the same sense that cocaine is, but if it can serve a gateway function, we should look at it, and it falls squarely in the domain of the FDA. What kind of labeling are you arguing energy drinks should carry? The Center for Science in the Public Interest put together a petition to the FDA more than 10 year ago saying caffeinated beverages should be labeled with amounts of caffeine. It’s such an obvious and useful first step. Consumers should know what they’re getting. And I think if you allow products on the market with huge doses, you need to provide some kind of warning of the
