Is caffeine addictive?
There has been some debate about whether caffeine is truly physically addictive. Although a recent study by doctors at Johns Hopkins Univ. confirmed that caffeine withdrawal is an official disorder, others claim that since the withdrawal symptoms are usually not very severe and rarely last longer than a week, it should not be characterized as truly addictive in comparison to other drugs such as tobacco or heroin. While it may not be as difficult to quit the caffeine habit as to quit the smoking habit, most people who’ve been forced to go without their coffee for a day will agree that caffeine is most definitely addictive.
As exams approach, students everywhere reach for their coffee mugs, their Vivarine and No-Doz. Legions of wide-eyed and shaky young people stay up late into the night, printing out final papers and cramming a year worth of information into their over-burned minds. Falling asleep over books is not acceptable at this time of year. But this is not a new thing; many students have a late-night lifestyle supported by caffeine, getting an average of 5 hours of sleep a night. These young people are a part of the nearly 80% of Americans who depend on caffeine (1). They use it to stay awake when their bodies tell them they need to sleep. Many people use it simply to feel more awake or simply because they like the taste of coffee, sodas or teas which contain the drug. For those who love coffee, the taste is often cited as the reason for the “addiction” and the use of that word does not imply anything like a drug addiction. However, try to take away someone’s coffee abruptly and chances are they w
The question of whether caffeine is addictive has been debated for decades. Some medical experts believe it is mildly addictive because it fits the criteria for addiction: dependence and tolerance. In “Clinical Pharmacology of Caffeine” (Annual Review of Medicine, 1990), Neal L. Benowitz observed, “Minor criteria for addiction liability include the development of tolerance, physical dependence, and recurrent intense desire for the drug, all of which are characteristic of regular caffeine consumers. Thus, there is a group of coffee drinkers who appear to be addicted to caffeine, although the extent of caffeine addiction in the population is unknown.” While caffeine is both psychoactive (mood altering) and addictive, it is not intoxicating. No one gets drunk or “high” on caffeine, although it can produce anxiety and sleeplessness. However, results of a 1999 study, “Are We Dependent upon Coffee and Caffeine? A Review on Human and Animal Data” (Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews), show
Have you ever said that you can’t function until your morning cup of coffee? Do you find yourself reaching for caffeinated coffee, tea, or soda when you are feeling lethargic? Could it be that you are addicted to caffeine? That all depends on who you ask. Whether we consume caffeine for pleasure or purpose is a controversial topic. Those opposed to caffeine being addictive claim that we consume it for the pleasure of the product, while those who believe that it is addictive claim that we consume it for the purpose of satisfying our craving for it. Psychiatric diagnoses are categorized by a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). This manual covers all mental-health disorders for both children and adults. The DSM-IV has a proposed diagnosis of caffeine withdrawal, instead of an official diagnosis, to encourage further research on the range and specificity of caffeine-withdrawal sympt
