Coffee Addiction?
How many mornings have you cursed under your breath because you ran out the door without your morning cup of Joe?
Are you thinking never because you always go back in to get it or turn the car around? Have you thought to yourself I need a Mountain Dew before the end of the day or I’m never going to make it? Have you ever gotten the shakes or a mind blowing headache from lack of caffeine?
Is America addicted to caffeine? And if we are what’s the problem?

Americans are addicted to caffeine. Caffeine is arguably the most popular drug in the world, even for none coffee drinkers, which is about 9% of people, according to an MSNBC magazine. Caffeine is ubiquitous in our world today. Its in your morning coffee, your mid morning pop, your Mountain Dew with your pizza at lunch, you afternoon energy shot, and your energy drink during your late night gaming.
So what if we are addicted to caffeine, what’s the big deal? Caffeine has been linked to many health risks including; headaches, difficulty concentrating, drowsiness, flu like symptoms, sleep disturbances, fatigue, decreased alertness, and mood swings. And these are only the effects that can happen after the first 12-24 hours of consumption. We are only micro amounts of caffeine; a quarter size amount of it is lethal to us. (According to www.overcaffeinated.org) You wouldn’t take a spoonful of poison along with your sugar would you? So why would you want your body to be addicted to something that is potentially fatal to your health? Trimethylxanthyine is the short version of its official name; do you want whatever that is in your bloodstream 24/7? Caffeine takes only 5-15 minutes to circulate through your blood stream. Some long term effects that have been linked to caffeine addiction are high blood pressure, osteoporosis, heart disease, severe heartburn, insomnia, ulcers, depression, anxiety, infertility, and miscarriages and birth defects among pregnant women.
A 17 year old girl was working the 8 a.m. shift at her father’s restaurant, a new sandwich shop; she had barely gotten 5 hours of sleep and was obviously exhausted. So she decided to make herself a double espresso. It perked her up and thought that another one could only make her better, after 7 double espressos she started to feel pretty interesting. By noon she was not feeling well and was laughing and crying uncontrollably to frightened customers. Her father sent her home and by the following morning she couldn’t feel her lips, and was having trouble breathing. She went to the hospital and by that time was having heart palpations and drenched with sweat. She was later diagnosed with caffeine overdose. She now says that "Coffee is fine in moderation and really does pick you up, but I just overdid it. I didn't realize what could happen, so I hope other people learn from my mistake."
Caffeine is a dangerous drug that is easy to become addicted to. So lets stop the chain right here.