Caffeine Addiction essays

Caffeine Addiction essays Caffeine. It helps millions of people wake up and feel better in the morning. It helps them stay awake on the road. It gives them something nonalcoholic to drink socially. And it gives people that extra burst of energy we all seem to need sometimes. But do people realize when they take that sip of coffee, or bite into that bar of chocolate they are contaminating their body with what could be a very dangerous drug? Because thats just what caffeine is, a drug. According to Richard J. Gilbert, Ph.D., writer of The Encyclopedia Of Psychoactive Drugs: Caffeine: The Most Popular Stimulant, most people only recognize two types of drugs. The first type consists of drugs you receive from doctors or pharmacists. The second includes substances such as marijuana, heroin, nicotine, and alcohol. People dont acknowledge caffeine as a drug only because the use of it is so wide spread. But not only is caffeine a drug, it is the worlds most popular drug (19). Individuals encounter it on a daily basis, but many people do not realize why abuse of caffeine is a problem; nevertheless, all people should be aware of the problems caused by the drug caffeine to better prevent themselves from addiction. And just like any other drug, effects of caffeine are far-reaching and can be quite serious. The origins of caffeine are fairly unknown. Yet, Caffeine Blues: Wake up to the Hidden Dangers of Americas #1 Drug by Stephen Cherniske, M.S., tells a tale that traces its discovery to a goatherd dwelling in Ethiopia. Apparently, a goatherd was watching some birds eat berries from a wild evergreen bush. The animals, to his amazement, suddenly started to leap about with wild abandon. He then tried some of the berries, and soon began to leap as well (13-14). The coffee plant as they called it, eventually made its way to the Arab monks during the thirteenth century. They then discovered that the beans from this plant could be made into ...