In light of the recent Panera charged lemonade lawsuits, caffeine consumption is on the minds of many, including Ferris students who shared their experiences with caffeine.
Panera is facing lawsuits regarding their charged lemonade products for contributing to the death of two individuals and lasting heart health issues of another.
The basis of these lawsuits rests on a lack of proper warning regarding the caffeine content as well as misleading marketing surrounding the drinks. The caffeine content of a 30-ounce large Panera charged lemonade can be as high as 390 milligrams, even when excluding the ice.
Big Rapids Panera manager Alexandrea Lenahan explained that all caffeine totals provided by Panera for charged lemonades are with ice. With ice in the picture, the caffeine totals reach a maximum of 236 milligrams.
These lower caffeine totals are what Panera uses in their marketing for charged lemonades. Lenahan declined to comment on the lawsuits, citing Panera company policy.
With an abundance of caffeine in such proximity to campus in mind, Ferris students spoke on their relationship with caffeine.
“I wasn’t aware [of the side effects of caffeine] when I started drinking coffee,” pre-pharmacy freshman Casey Marek said. “I started when I was a little kid. It was kind of a thing we did with our family to be social.”
Marek explained how caffeine has affected his life.
“[My relationship with caffeine] is love hate, easily. When I have access to it I’ll always get it,” Marek said. “When I can’t get it, I’ll have a splitting headache.”
Marek drinks a cup of coffee daily and rarely strays from it. He does not plan to change his caffeine habits.
Healthcare systems administration senior Jayley Streeter spoke on her “addictive” relationship with caffeine.
“If I don’t have caffeine, at about 2 p.m., I get a migraine or a headache,” said Streeter. “Unfortunately, I have to use more caffeine or pain relievers to get [the headache] to go away. I have not found a method to avoid this. It’s a vicious cycle I struggle with.”
Streeter drinks a Red Bull or cup of coffee every morning upon waking.
An Instagram poll conducted on Jan. 25 puts Marek and Streeter squarely in the majority of respondents. The poll garnered 92 responses from Ferris students. This gave the results that 40.2% of students drink caffeine daily, 18.5% drink caffeine 4 to 6 times per week, 25% drink caffeine 1 to 3 times per week and 16.3% almost never drink caffeine.
Part of the 16% that almost never drink caffeine, data analysis senior Ryan Cicalo has been through caffeine withdrawals associated with daily use before.
“I used to drink a cup of coffee every morning,” Cicalo said. “At first it helped me get through rough mornings, then it turned into a necessity every morning.”
Cicalo cites the crash after the caffeine wears off as his main gripe with drinking coffee.
“I didn’t have headaches until I stopped drinking it completely, the reason I wanted to stop was because of how tired I felt when it would wear off,” Cicalo said. “The up and down every day was really wearing on me I think.”
Caffeine is a drug that can be toxic if used incorrectly. It never hurts for someone to make sure they know how much caffeine is in their beverage, as well as making sure to find the dosage and interval of consumption that works for them.