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 Coroners 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 Kings 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, Bedfords 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.
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.
If you drink too much water, you die. We need a label on water.
Sheesh!
I doubt that there is that much caffeine in chocolate, so I’m safe!
Chocolate is good!
};^P>
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...
This guy should certainly be nominated for a Darwin Award.
He should at least get an Honorable Mention...............
Water can kill, if you drink too much in a short period of time.
Eyes wide shut?
I bought caffeine powder to use in formulating a facial serum.
It works............
Beware, It LIVES!
The coroner criticized the product.
How about blaming the fool who ate the product?
I perfected that horror nully posted while in the military.
Artillerymen aren’t known for sanity.
];-)
Now I’ll have nightmares for sure. *shudder*
“I bought caffeine powder to use in formulating a facial serum”
Please, do tell...
Ah-HA!
It’s NOT my fault!
These days, I limit myself. (NOT!!)
It helps me sleep!
I seem to recall a pharmacology professor explaining caffeine’s potency thus: decaf is 99% caffeine free. Regular coffee is 98% caffeine free.
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.
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.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.