Caffeine OD Kills Man

The family of a 23-year-old British man killed by a colossal dose of caffeine say the sale of caffeine powder over the Internet should be banned. He died after swallowing two spoonfuls of the powder, equivalent to the caffeine in 70 cans of Red Bull, at a party, the Nottingham Post reports. He had either not seen or ignored a warning on the product not to take more than one-sixteenth of a spoonful.

The man became ill about 15 minutes after taking the powder, friends told a coroner's inquest. "He was puking up blood and he was sweating really bad," one friend said. The coroner, recording a verdict of accidental death, criticized the product's maker for not making warnings clearer. A Kentucky man recently attempted to use caffeine intoxication as a defense in his murder trial, click here for that story. (More caffeine stories.)