Laura Ungar

The Courier-Journal

With a new school year underway, poison control officials in Kentucky and across the nation are sounding the alarm about powdered caffeine, used by some teens to boost workouts, weight loss or energy but implicated in the death of a high school wrestler in Ohio.

Many poison control officials want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to restrict the use of the increasingly popular powder, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is calling for an outright ban.

FDA officials say they are collecting information and will consider regulatory action, and urge consumers to avoid the product in the meantime.

“I drink coffee. … We’re not trying to get rid of caffeine. It is just this form and this dose,” said Henry Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. “It’s like going to buy firecrackers and someone handing you a stick of dynamite. This is frighteningly dangerous. You can’t have 16- and 17-year-olds buying something off the Internet and playing with dynamite.”

Ashley Webb, a toxicologist who directs the Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center of Kosair Children’s Hospital, said no cases have been reported to her center — although Spiller has heard of a case in Indiana. But Webb said Kentucky’s center is on high alert for caffeine overdoses.

“We’re worried,” Webb said. “With it being back-to-school time, kids are getting involved in sports and starting to study for tests” and may take the product believing it will help.

The problem, Webb said, is that the powder is so concentrated that it’s easy to overdose. One serving is a sixteenth of a teaspoon, which is so small most people don’t have a way to measure it. Also, it’s often used in homemade energy or protein shakes along with other ingredients measured in large scoops. People also mix it into drinks to make them more alert — figuring caffeine is safe because it’s in sodas, energy drinks and coffee.

But according to the FDA, which issued a warning about powdered caffeine in July, a teaspoon is roughly equal to the amount in 25 cups of coffee. A cup of coffee typically contains 40 to 80 milligrams of caffeine, and Webb said safe caffeine consumption shouldn’t exceed 200-400 mg in four hours. Very high levels of caffeine can cause rapid or erratic heartbeat, seizures and death.

So far this year, Spiller said, the National Poison Data System shows there have been 30 cases of powdered caffeine overdoses reported to poison control centers nationally.

Ohio had three; two men suffered kidney failure and Logan Stiner died in May. Stiner, 18, was about to graduate Keystone High School in LaGrange and planned to attend the University of Toledo.

“He was a great kid — polite, smart. He was in the top percent of his class,” said Jay Arbaugh, Keystone Local Schools superintendent. “It was a huge loss. ... And since it was such a personal tragedy here, it has made people more aware of the problem.”

Arbaugh said “we had no idea” last year that young athletes were using caffeine powder, which is mostly sold through the Internet. But now, teachers incorporate information on its dangers into lessons on avoiding drugs.

“It’s bizarre to me that you can … get this,” Arbaugh said.

Daniel Fabricant, chief executive officer of the Natural Products Association and a former FDA official, said while overdoses are tragic, misuse is the problem. He said caffeine powder is safe when used correctly.

The company Hard Rhino, which did not respond to a phone message and email seeking comment, warns on its web site that the powder can be dangerous if misused and advises using a micro scale for exact measurements.

“Before anyone takes a supplement, they should talk to their doctor. If people have a reason to supplement their diet with caffeine, they should follow instructions for use on the labeling,” Fabricant said. “People can overdose on anything, even water.”

But Blumenthal, a former Connecticut attorney general, insists it should be taken off the market because it represents an imminent hazard, and he believes the FDA can do that. A 1994 law says the agency must show a product is unsafe before restricting its use or seeking to have it taken off the market.

“I know the FDA issued a warning about it, but that seems insufficient,” Blumenthal said. “This powdered caffeine has no nutritional value, but it’s extremely dangerous.”

As the FDA mulls the issue, poison control centers are spreading the word. Spiller this month expressed his concerns in a Nationwide Children’s Hospital blog, the Texas Panhandle Poison Center recently issued a warning and the Maryland Poison Center reached out to the public in the back-to-school edition of its newsletter.

“It’s extremely toxic. There’s no good reason to have it out there,” said Jeanie Jaramillo, the Texas poison center’s managing director. “You take teens who think they’re invincible anyway, and you’re asking for trouble.”

Reporter Laura Ungar can be reached at (502)582-7190 or on Twitter @laura_ungar.

Caffeine comparisons

Coffee: Typically, 40 to 80 mg per cup

Energy drink: 100 mg per serving or more

Caffeine powder: Up to 1,600 mg per teaspoon or more

Sources: Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center, Courier-Journal reporting