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Comment by nv-vn | Hacker News Reader

Caffeine is dangerous in a way. It's very addictive and lethal at relatively low doses. Not everyone experiences lethal effects at the same dose: "The LD50 of caffeine in humans is dependent on individual sensitivity, but is estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass or roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee for an average adult." Maybe this teen had some condition before hand/was taking other medicines? I guess if they were very thin that might do it?

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> relatively low doses

> roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee

You and I have different definitions of "low dose".

That would also be well over the volume of pure water that can also cause death by water intoxication - see the "Hold your Wee for a Wii" incident.

Assuming the caffeine was delivered in liquid form (in coffee, energy drinks, sodas, etc). It would be fairly easy to exceed lethal dosage via caffeine in tablets, powder, or capsule form.

It could easily be delivered through a number of high-caffeine energy drinks (5-Hour Energy contains 200-230mg of caffeine [1]; a few whole cups worth of it could easily kill someone) or caffeine pills. When insufflated, pure caffeine can easily lead to overdose/death. While a couple cups of coffee might not do it, caffeine is delivered in a variety of forms.

[1] https://www.caffeineinformer.com/the-caffeine-database

> It's very addictive

Some people do indeed get headaches, etc. if they don't get their morning fix. On the other hand, people like myself like some morning tea or coffee but can skip it as needed or get it when we arrive in the office.

I haven't read research to indicate how the population splits between those extremes.

Uh, yes and no. I have gone on and off caffeine for years. The withdrawal is mild--nothing a couple of ibuprofen and staying hydrated can't mitigate. It's not heroin!

After say 48-72 hours, you're caffeine free.

I drink coffee to stay sharp while coding, but like I said, I have quit it for long periods of time due to sleep issues and things. I now mostly just drink decaf for coding (note: decaf is not "non-caf").

I should add, I've never been addicted to anything ever--for whatever reason, I can just walk away and never want <fill in the blank> again. For others, psychological addiction can be tough to get over.

I'm heavily hooked to cigarettes, however, walking away from caffeine was absolutely trivial. I was told to stop due to panic attacks, so I was lucky having sick leave to deal with the initial abstinence.

Long term, zero caffeine is like being on caffeine all the time. It's worth ditching.

I'm glad someone can relate. I feel like how much coffee I drink is making my panic attacks worse. Cigarettes surely don't help.

TFA says he was neither thin nor had a known preexisting condition. My guess is it's just one of the freak things that happen sometimes. This was a very small amount of caffeine compared to what my average coworker drinks.

According to the article, this young man weighed 90 kilograms. Not exactly tiny.

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