When I hear the words “Pure Energy”, I remember Leonard Nimoy’s voice on the song, “What’s on your mind”, released by the Information Society in 1988. It is one of those “turn up the volume” songs. Oh, the simple days…
Now it is 2012 and there is a product called “Aeroshot Pure Energy” that you can find on the internet and may soon be available on the market in the U.S. “Aeroshot Pure Energy” reportedly contains 100 mg caffeine and B vitamins. This product is produced by a company that makes “breathable food.” The delivery device is a lipstick tube sized device for which you open one end and puff a powder into your mouth and swallow. Each tube has 6-8 puffs. It is not clear whether or not you have to puff once or multiple times to get the desired dose. In reality, there is no inhalation of the substance, so it is not exactly as advertised: “Puff in, Be on”, “Breathable energy.”
Caffeine is a methylxanthine that we all know and love. While caffeine has a large therapeutic index (meaning there is little crossover between therapeutic range and toxic range), the concerns for this product is not just an overdose, but its potential use in the “club” scene where high dose caffeine is combined with other sympathomimetics or enactogens. The result could be a synergistic effect that results in toxic effects in the user. The user may then end up in the emergency department as they experience effects that “boldly go where no man has gone before.”
This question prepared by: Saralyn Williams, MD Medical Toxicologist
I am interested in any questions you would like answered in the Question of the Week. Please email me with any suggestion at donna.seger@vanderbilt.edu
Donna Seger, MD
Medical Director
Tennessee Poison Center
Website: www.tnpoisoncenter.org