Annotated Bibliography on Caffeine

Claim: Caffeine beverages have been around for centuries and the concerns about the effects of caffeine have followed. Today, companies have come out with more energy drinks and the question has been raised about regulating the amount of caffeine in drinks. Regulating the amount of caffeine would be beneficial because high levels of caffeine can be dangerous.

Carpenter, Murray. “A Century Later, Jury’s Still Out on Caffeine Limits.”The New York Times. 28 March 2011.

The article in the New York Times titled, A Century Later, Jury’s Still Out on Caffeine Limits addresses the issue of high caffeine levels in beverages from the past to present. The focus of the article is about how there was a trial in 1911 against Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola was on trial because there was a concern about the levels of caffeine in their product. Research was done by Harry Levi Hollingworth ,a psychology professor, for the trial and he found that caffeine did have an effect on humans and one effect included a “Gradual rise of spirits till 4:00. Then a period of exuberance, of good feeling. Fanciful ideas rampant.” The conclusion of the trial was that the case was dismissed and this issue is still debated today. This article was detailed about the trial and how the issue of caffeine levels is still a concern. In supporting the claim, the professor’s research would be useful, but the other details of the trial would not be helpful. The article mentioned that Harry Levi Hollingworth compiled his research into a book called The Influence of Caffeine on Mental and Motor Efficiency and this would be a great follow up source.