A Study of the Caffeine Concentration in Soda
Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, and many other popular soft drinks contain caffeine. Caffeine is a mildly addictive stimulant drug that will keep consumers coming back for more.
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(For comparison, an 8-oz. cup of brewed coffee has 135 mg; a 8-oz. cup of instant coffee has 95 mg; an 8-oz. cup of tea 50 mg.)
A study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that, despite claims, caffeine cannot be detected as a flavor and suggests it's more about addiction. "The marketing parallels between nicotine and caffeine are pretty stunning," said psychopharmacologist Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., who directed the research. "Both are psychoactive drugs. Until recently, cigarette companies denied that nicotine is addicting and said it was added merely as a flavor enhancer for cigarettes. The same is being said for caffeine." Source: "Caffeine In Colas: "The Real Thing" Isn't The Taste," press release, August, 2000, http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2000/AUGUST/000814.HTM
Griffiths also said, "I'd like to see the soft drink industry come out of denial about the role of caffeine in their products. They're adding a mildly addictive, mood-altering drug, one which surely accounts for the fact that people drink far more sodas with caffeine than without." Source: "Caffeine In Colas: "The Real Thing" Isn't The Taste," press release, August, 2000, http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2000/AUGUST/000814.HTM
"Research has shown that the dose of caffeine delivered in a single can of soft drink is sufficient to produce mood and behavioral effects." Source: Dr. Roland Griffiths, in Eileen O'Connor, "A sip into dangerous territory," Monitor on Psychology, 32.5, June 2001.
Dr. John Greden, head of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, has dubbed the combination of agitation, disorientation, nervousness, twitching, recurrent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances "caffeinism," which he says can be misdiagnosed as anxiety neuroses. Source: Eileen O'Connor, "A sip into dangerous territory," Monitor on Psychology, 32:5, June 2001.
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