Did you know that caffeine is an alkaloid and a behavior modifier?

It always stuns me when people do not know caffeine is very addictive or that they are addicted. They think because they can drink a cup or coffee or glass of Coke and go to sleep they must not be addicted. Wrong. Go without the drug and see the withdrawal begin.

Somehow its danger as a “deadly poison” seems false. I know many people who have several cups a day, and have for 70+ years, who are still alive and kicking.

I’ll agree that it has a potential deleterious effect. But an active poison? Nah.

I am aware of its addictive properties. I love my coffee, but I don’t drink tons of it daily. But enough to know what it can do to me if one morning I can’t have some.
The effects do not last nowhere near as long as a whole day.
Although it can make my morning pretty shitty.
However on addiction charts, it should at least be labeled as a ’‘drug’’, because it causes addiction, even if it’s not as hardcore as tobacco, alcohol or garbage like cocaine.

Caffeine is a ‘deadly poison’ in the same way aspirin is: it’s a drug and an overdose can kill you. And an overdose is something like several grams for most adults depending on body weight (for example, for me it would be ~10 grams), while a cup of coffee has ~40 mg, or .04 grams. So, yeah, ‘deadly poison’ it really isn’t. And you know what else is an alkaloid? Your DNA. The fact that it’s in a certain class of compounds does not make it terrible.

Also, individuals vary with addictive affects. Many people can quit cold turkey with no ill effects, and others only get a bad headache and irritability. It can last as long as a week, which is annoying, sure, but after that period they’re fine.

Not sure why the big fuss, really.

I have switched to decaf. As a highly anxious person, I had definitely noticed the effects of caffeine on me. I don’t miss it.

Coffee surprisingly calms me down (less anxious) but it does pep me up. Health-wise it’s basically neutral from what I understand. I’m addicted and I do withdraw from it, anxious, headaches but pretty mild really. I don’t have any intention of giving it up. It’s about the only vice I have left. I’m a “slow metabolizer” of caffeine so I try to keep it under four cups but I usually have one or two in the morning, one in the afternoon and on occassion one in early evening. I’m having one right now actually. No problems with sleep. I need two in a day to feed the addiction to it.

I know that I like it.

I wish caffeine effected me honestly. I envy those who can drink a cup of coffee or an energy drink and feel awake. It causes no visible psychological effects with me.

@El_Cadejo Do you drink caffeine daily?

@JLeslie Pretty rarely actually. While I drink a lot of tea it’s mostly herbal stuff so no caffeine there, don’t really drink soda often either.