--- title: FDA Warns Against Powdered Caffine description: After death of Ohio teen canonical: https://time.com/3006202/fda-powdered-caffine-warning/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-18T20:22:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:14:13.258Z article:section: Health og:title: FDA Warns Against Powdered Caffine og:description: After death of Ohio teen og:url: https://time.com/3006202/fda-powdered-caffine-warning/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FDA Warns Against Powdered Caffine twitter:description: After death of Ohio teen twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # FDA Warns Against Powdered Caffeine > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=19af771b-974d-4f59-9c35-7aba1798824f&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Jul 18, 2014 8:22 PM UTC  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Jul 18, 2014 8:22 PM UTC The U.S. Food and Drug Administration [issued](http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm405787.htm) a warning Friday about the dangers of pure powdered caffeine after the death of a teenager in Ohio in May. A mere teaspoon of pure powdered caffeine, the FDA said, is equivalent to 25 cups of coffee and can be lethal. “Pure caffeine is a powerful stimulant and very small amounts may cause accidental overdose. Parents should be aware that these products may be attractive to young people,” the agent noted. The substance can be easily purchased online. Taking too much of the drug can result in heartbeat disruptions, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea and disorientation. “These symptoms are likely to be much more severe than those resulting from drinking too much coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages,” according to the statement. The announcement comes almost two months after [Logan Steiner](http://time.com/2945013/caffeine-powder-overdose/), 18, of LeGrange, Ohio, died after overdosing on powdered caffeine on May 27. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3006202/fda-powdered-caffine-warning/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3006202/fda-powdered-caffine-warning/"},"headline":"FDA Warns Against Powdered Caffeine","datePublished":"2014-07-18T20:22:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:14:13.258Z","description":"The agency issued a statement Friday recommending that consumers avoid the potent powders","url":"https://time.com/3006202/fda-powdered-caffine-warning/","keywords":["Drugs","Overdose","Caffeine","drug"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3006202/fda-powdered-caffine-warning/","name":"FDA Warns Against Powdered Caffeine"}}]}] ```