Caffeine has many negative effects on humans, such as increased heart rate (Lane, JD, 2002), depression (Goldstein, 2008) and an addiction to this “drug”. » You may be wondering, “What is caffeine?” » Well, caffeine is actually a stimulant (Barone, Roberts, 2008) found in drinks like tea, coffee and soft drinks. In fact, caffeine is the most profitable and widely used stimulant in the United States (Barone, Roberts, 2008). It is estimated that 85% of adults living in the United States consume caffeine daily (Barone, Roberts, 2008). This means that out of 100 adults, 85 of them drank a caffeinated beverage in a given day. One of the reasons caffeine is so widely available compared to other stimulants is that caffeine is socially acceptable (Brice, Smith, Sutherland, Chistopher, Childs, deWit, 2008). If nicotine were as acceptable to people as caffeine, cigarettes would be more widely consumed and there might not even be a smoking age law. One study showed that 75 to 98% of young people consume at least one caffeinated beverage every day. 31% of these same young people consume 2 or more caffeinated drinks daily (Morgan, Stults, Zabmick, NFS, 2008). If caffeine weren't so socially acceptable, these numbers would be drastically different. When young people were asked when they consumed the most caffeine during the week, the results showed that after noon on Wednesday, caffeine consumption begins to increase. It is on Saturday that it reaches its peak and begins to descend (Pollack, Bright, 2008). There are many opinions on why this happens, such as stress from school, getting through the week, or not getting enough sleep during the week. When scientist Hoidrup found... middle of paper ... no signs of children experiencing nausea due to caffeine consumption. Another behavioral test showed that young people admitted that they consumed caffeine to “cope” with the pears or to increase their own emotions (Whalen, 2008). An example of this would be teenagers who drink soft drinks with friends when socializing. One study looked at young children and asked them to avoid caffeine for a few days. After a few days, they carried out tests on the children. These children had reduced reaction times and also had symptoms similar to those of young people and adolescents. This study shows that the cycle of caffeine dependence begins at a young age (Goldstein, Wallace, Bernstein, 2008). Because you start an addiction at such a young age, it becomes more difficult to stop consuming caffeine. It would be like trying to quit smoking cigarettes when you smoke a pack daily..