A 23-year-old man in the UK has passed away after he reportedly ingested “spoonfuls” of powdered caffeine at a party.

A statement on the caffeine’s packaging says to not ingest more than 1/16 of a teaspoon, but according to testimony given at the inquest, the man swallowed spoonfuls of the caffeine — the equivalent of 70 cans of energy drink. He became ill within a matter of minutes.

“He was puking up blood and he was sweating really bad,” one friend testified. Others said he became incoherent and his speech was slurred.

While police have said there were no suspicious circumstances and the deceased was not acting illegally, the local coroner criticized both the availability and labeling of the powdered caffeine:

Caffeine is so freely available on the internet for £3.29 [$5.27] but it’s so lethal if taken in the wrong dose and here we see the consequence…

Who would take [one sixteenth of a teaspoon]? It’s such a small dosage, the warning is so small on the front of it.

If you’re sharing a bag, carrying it around and if you hadn’t seen the warning – it could be that anyone at the party could have taken it. It’s so dangerous to take something like this.

‘Strong caffeine products should be banned’ says grandmother of overdose victim [Nottingham Post]

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