It’s a drug that seems to whisper “You need me to get you through the day,” and it’s right up in the big leagues with heroine, speed, and cocaine.

It’s caffeine.

“Caffeine is the most abused, mood altering drug in the world,” said Glenna Rufo, nurse specialist at the campus Health Center, during the Brown Bag Luncheon in Hanna Hall yesterday afternoon. “Nine out of 10 Americans drink or take some form of caffeine.”

Jitters, nervousness, restlessness, excitement, insomnia, rambling speech and thought patterns are many of the symptoms caused by intoxication of caffeine, Rufo said.

“As long as you have caffeine in your blood, it will have some effect on your body,” Rufo said.

Caffeine is not only addictive, but it also likes to hang out in the bloodstream for as long as possible, Rufo said. She explained that it stays in pregnant women’s’ blood for up to 18 hours, women on birth control for up to 13 hours, and it can be in infants’ bodies from their mothers’ breast milk for up to 30 hours.

“You can have sleep disorders if you have a cup of coffee in the morning,” Rufo said. “You don’t need to be drinking coffee all day.”

Rufo also mentioned that people often don’t realize that they are addicted to caffeine.

“If you’re waking up with problems like headaches that go away with caffeine, that’s usually a sign of mild withdrawal,” she explained.

Like with many drugs, “you start off with one pill, and then take two or three,” Rufo said. “You build up a tolerance.”

Many people, especially parents, don’t always think of soft drinks when they consider caffeine.

“When [parents] think of caffeine, they think of coffee,” said Mary Krueger, director of the Women’s Center, causing many to nod in agreement.

Drinking coffee is also thought of as a social event. To many people, it’s a daily routine.

“It’s sort of a ritual,” Krueger said.

One woman in attendance learned the negatives of caffeine through her family members.

“I saw members of my family going through withdrawals, so I swore off caffeine,” said Maria DeRose, a women’s studies instructor. “I’m seen as antisocial and weird because I don’t drink coffee. People would be like ‘what do ya mean you don’t drink coffee? You’re a grad student.'”

Rufo also explained that everybody reacts differently to caffeine so some people may not experience its symptoms.

She said caffeine has its advantages in many people’s eyes.

“It’s an appetite suppressant and can be used as a diuretic so that’s why people like it,” she said, adding that many people don’t realize that a brewed cup of coffee has 135 milligrams of caffeine in it.

“If you drink more than 100 mg of caffeine a day, you will experience withdrawal,” she explained.

Rufo also said that while some people may be able to quit cold turkey, her recommendation to most people is cutting back.

“Just start cutting down,” she said. “If you drink three cups a day, go to two, then one.”

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