Sen. Richard Blumenthal wants FDA to ban powdered caffeine.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday will renew a call for the FDA to ban powdered caffeine, a teaspoon of which is equal to the caffeine in 25 cups of coffee.
Blumenthal and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, will meet with the parents of an Ohio high school wrestler and prom king who died in May after ingesting the substance, which is sold in stores and online.
After the death of 18-year-old Logan Stiner of LaGrange, Ohio, the FDA issued a warning on powdered caffeine. “Pure caffeine is a powerful stimulant and very small amounts may cause accidental overdose,’’ the advisory stated. “Parents should be aware that these products may be attractive to young people.’’
Powdered caffeine is popular among teens and young adults who consume it to boost workouts, weight loss, or energy levels. It has been implicated in the death of a Georgia man, Wade Sweatt, 24.
After meeting with Blumenthal and Brown, the Stiner family will join the parents of Sweatt and advocates from the Center for Science in the Public Interest in delivering a petition urging FDA to ban the sale of powdered caffeine.
In October, Blumenthal joined Brown in calling on FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to step up its warning on powdered caffeine and actually bar its sale. “We look forward to working with you to ensure that a ban on the retail sale and marketing of this deadly product is put in place to protect Americans from this dangerous form of caffeine,’’ the senators said in the letter.
Blumenthal is no stranger to calls for federal protection from perilous or potentially perilous substances, including tobacco and energy drinks. Last year, Blumenthal and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent a separate letter to Hamburg urging her to heighten scrutiny of energy drinks, which they described as a “new and growing market’’ that is particularly attractive to young people.
Energy drinks and products such as energy shots, gels, gums and powders “contain high levels of caffeine and stimulants,’’ the senators wrote. For the young, these products “can have serious health consequences, including caffeine toxicity, stroke, anxiety, arrhythmia, and in some cases death.’’ The FDA’s probe of energy drinks “and risks associated with consuming high levels of caffeine could not be more critical to protect the public’s health,’’ they concluded.