Caffeine has become an ubiquitous drug. Used originally in most cultures for ceremony or some daily stimulation, it has become a regular, overused energy stimulant in the Western world, with the United States leading in coffee and caffeine use.

Coffee, brewed from the ground-up coffee bean (Coffea arabica), is the major vehicle for caffeine consumption. In this country, more than a half billion cups are drunk daily, with most consumers drinking two or more cups, and more than ten pounds of coffee per person are consumed yearly. This food/drug mixture, often along with sugar and/or milk, is one of the most freely marketed substances in the world.

There are several basic areas of concern about this substance. I believe that a major one, possibly even more important than the caffeine itself, is the toxic chemicals used in the many stages of growing and marketing coffee. The easily rancified oils and the irritating acids contained in the beans offer further hazards. People trying to cut down by drinking decaf could even be exposed to dangerous chemicals unless they are drinking coffee prepared by the water process or Swiss process, which uses steam distillation to remove the caffeine. Otherwise, agents such as TCE (trichlorethylene) or methylene chloride used in the chemical processing may be contained as residues in the decaf coffee. More coffee-drinking concerns have arisen over the last decades as pesticide use and chemical processing have generally increased, though fortunately our coffee consumption has lessened over the last 40 years. In 1946, at the peak of use, yearly consumption was 20 pounds per person; since most children and some adults were not consuming any, many people were consuming a lot more than the 1,000-cup-a-year average. In 1979, estimated consumption was down to around 9 pounds per year, or about two cups per day per person. It has gone up slightly since then, here and in many other countries of the world, where it is also consumed in large quantities.

Another problem is caffeine's widespread use in so many products, such as soft drinks and many over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. All products containing caffeine should carry a warning saying something like, "Caffeine can be hazardous to your health. Regular use may be addicting and injurious." The problem here is less with the drug itself and more with the amounts consumed and the constant stimulation on which people depend many times daily. One big area of concern here is with children and teenagers, who may consume large amounts of caffeine in soft drinks. Cola naturally contains caffeine, yet many soft drinks have even more added. The caffeine creates an addiction to the drink.

Another concern is that caffeine addiction often occurs along with other substance abuses, nicotine and sugar most commonly. Caffeine, like sugar, overstimulates the adrenals and then weakens them with persistent or chronic use. First, sugar stimulates and weakens the adrenals, which creates fatigue. Then we use caffeine to keep us aware and awake, further depleting our adrenals, to which many respond by drinking more caffeine with sugar. In addition, people who overuse caffeine tend to need more tranquilizers and sleeping pills to help them relax or sleep.