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Man Dies Of Caffeine Overdose
By NewsCore via MyFox via Drudge ^ | Friday, 29 Oct 2010, 11:42 AM EDT

Posted on 10/29/2010 11:14:07 AM PDT by null and void

A British man died after poisoning himself with two spoonfuls of caffeine powder bought over the internet, local media reported Friday.

Michael Lee Bedford, 23, from Mansfield, central England, was at a party in April when he swallowed caffeine powder that a friend bought online for £3.29 ($5.26), Nottingham Coroner’s Court heard Thursday. He washed the powder down with an energy drink, and around 15 minutes later began sweating and vomiting blood. He later died at King’s Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire, central England, the Nottingham Post reported.

The court heard that Bedford ignored the product's recommendation to take no more than one sixteenth of a teaspoon and instead took two spoonfuls of the powder -- ingesting a level of caffeine 70 times more than is usually found in a high-energy drink.

Speaking outside the court, Bedford’s aunt Sue Burton said, "I think there should be a warning on it saying it can kill."

Nottingham Coroner Dr. Nigel Chapman said, "Caffeine is so freely available on the internet for £3.29, but it's so lethal if taken in the wrong dose, and here we see the consequence. So many people are upset and distraught by the death of Michael."

He also criticized the product, which was not named in the inquest, for recommending such a small dosage, which could be easily ignored. "Who would take [one sixteenth of a teaspoon]? It's such a small dosage -- the warning is so small on the front of it," Chapman said. "If you're sharing a bag, carrying it around, and if you hadn't seen the warning -- it could be that anyone at the party could have taken it. It's so dangerous to take something like this."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: caffeine; overdose
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To: ShadowAce
I took a lot of No-Doz once as a teenager.

A friend that was once in the Army said they'd split a box of No-Doz two ways to pull a watch. Called it "doin' a slab." Pretty well amped them out of their minds.

21 posted on 10/29/2010 11:37:00 AM PDT by gundog (Help us, Nairobi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.)
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To: Red Badger

If you drink too much water, you die. We need a label on water.

Sheesh!


22 posted on 10/29/2010 11:41:09 AM PDT by BunnySlippers (I love BULL MARKETS . . .)
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To: null and void

I doubt that there is that much caffeine in chocolate, so I’m safe!


23 posted on 10/29/2010 11:43:02 AM PDT by Monkey Face (If everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.)
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To: sionnsar

Chocolate is good!


24 posted on 10/29/2010 11:43:52 AM PDT by Monkey Face (If everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.)
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To: Monkey Face
That depends on how much you eat...

};^P>

25 posted on 10/29/2010 11:45:33 AM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 646 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: BunnySlippers

To be fair, it would be pretty hard to OD on water. I don’t think it unreasonable to put a warning label on something that can kill you with two teaspoonfuls...


26 posted on 10/29/2010 11:47:28 AM PDT by sinsofsolarempirefan
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To: BunnySlippers

This guy should certainly be nominated for a Darwin Award.
He should at least get an Honorable Mention...............


27 posted on 10/29/2010 11:49:18 AM PDT by Red Badger (WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE GIVE MEGHAN MCCAIN A BOX OF KRISPY KREMES SO SHE'LL SHUT THE HELL UP?!)
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To: null and void
...Bedford’s aunt Sue Burton said, "I think there should be a warning on it saying it can kill."

Water can kill, if you drink too much in a short period of time.

28 posted on 10/29/2010 11:49:48 AM PDT by 3niner (When Obama succeeds, America fails.)
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To: null and void

Eyes wide shut?


29 posted on 10/29/2010 11:51:19 AM PDT by Libloather (Teapublican, PROUD birther, mobster, pro-lifer, anti-warmer, enemy of the state, extremist....)
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To: Island Girl

I bought caffeine powder to use in formulating a facial serum.

It works............

30 posted on 10/29/2010 11:51:36 AM PDT by Red Badger (WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE GIVE MEGHAN MCCAIN A BOX OF KRISPY KREMES SO SHE'LL SHUT THE HELL UP?!)
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To: sionnsar; Monkey Face; Tax-chick; Anoreth; null and void

Beware, It LIVES!


31 posted on 10/29/2010 11:51:47 AM PDT by Darksheare (I shook hands with Sheryl Crow and all I got was Typhus and a single sheet of toilet paper.)
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To: null and void

The coroner criticized the product.
How about blaming the fool who ate the product?


32 posted on 10/29/2010 11:52:37 AM PDT by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (Annoying liberals is my goal. I will not be silenced.)
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To: rickb308; null and void

I perfected that horror nully posted while in the military.
Artillerymen aren’t known for sanity.
];-)


33 posted on 10/29/2010 11:54:29 AM PDT by Darksheare (I shook hands with Sheryl Crow and all I got was Typhus and a single sheet of toilet paper.)
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To: Red Badger

Now I’ll have nightmares for sure. *shudder*


34 posted on 10/29/2010 11:55:37 AM PDT by Monkey Face (If everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.)
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To: Island Girl

“I bought caffeine powder to use in formulating a facial serum”

Please, do tell...


35 posted on 10/29/2010 11:55:46 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Palin/Christie 2012)
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To: null and void

Ah-HA!
It’s NOT my fault!


36 posted on 10/29/2010 11:56:45 AM PDT by Darksheare (I shook hands with Sheryl Crow and all I got was Typhus and a single sheet of toilet paper.)
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To: null and void

These days, I limit myself. (NOT!!)

It helps me sleep!


37 posted on 10/29/2010 11:56:59 AM PDT by Monkey Face (If everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.)
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To: null and void

I seem to recall a pharmacology professor explaining caffeine’s potency thus: decaf is 99% caffeine free. Regular coffee is 98% caffeine free.


38 posted on 10/29/2010 11:58:41 AM PDT by Mr. Bird
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To: null and void

The bitterness is mainly due to using cheap Maxwell House coffee and recirculating it. It’s quite easy to make deadly coffe that tastes good. Try a French press loaded up with some quality coffee.


39 posted on 10/29/2010 12:01:42 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Psycho_Bunny

Last year, I chewed three pieces of caffeine gum and drank two Mountain Dews in less than half an hour. Ended up with the worst stomach ache I’ve ever had, my heart was racing, and I was shaking and twitching for almost twelve hours afterward.


40 posted on 10/29/2010 12:04:05 PM PDT by Stonewall Jackson (Democrats: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany.")
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