Deadly caffeine dose took teen’s life – two spoonfuls lethal

Deadly caffeine dose took teen's life - two spoonfuls lethal

Caffeine is classified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a multipurpose generally recognized safe substance, but it proved fatal for a British teen.

An inquest last week ruled that 23-year old Michael Bedford’s s death was accidental. He died shortly after ingesting two spoonfuls of caffeine powder which was estimated to be as strong as 70 Red Bull cans.

Bedford apparently ignored the warning label on the product which says only one-sixteenth of a teaspoon must be consumed.

The victim’s friends in the party where the incident happened said that Bedford vomited, spoke incoherently, and then collapsed shortly after ingesting caffeine powder. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead within minutes.

Bedford’s family blamed the easy availability of caffeine powder in the market. He purchased the powder in the Internet for $5 dollars. They feel that product labels should explicitly say that it can kill, if not banned altogether.

At the inquest, coroner Dr. Nigel Chapman said that “this should serve as a warning that caffeine is so freely available on the Internet but so lethal if the wrong dosage is taken.”

The incident is the latest in a string of incidents showing how harmful caffeine can get.

About 50 students of Central Washington University were brought to the hospital last month after drinking a mixture of alcohol and caffeine called Four Loko, aptly dubbed “blackout in a can.” It is said that one can is roughly equivalent to six beer cans and many shots of espresso.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday November 04 2010, 5:45 AM EDT. Ref: New York Daily News. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0