Caffeine study quells tempest in a coffeepot

The caffeine in over-the-counter pain relievers won’t get you hooked, according to a review of the literature by an international committee of scientists chaired by Alvan R. Feinstein, M.D., HS ’54, Sterling Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology. Fears percolating in Europe that caffeine in analgesics such as aspirin and acetaminophen might lead to dependency had spurred groups in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to seek protective regulations. Federal drug authorities in the three countries, along with the pharmaceutical industry, assembled the committee, which reported its findings in the November issue of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.