More wires
Sports
Business
Technology
Washington
Nation
World

Lottery #s
Daily: 7722 (Thu.)
Mass Cash: 5, 7, 13, 23, 24
(Sept. 22)
Mass Millions: 6,16,19,26,30,43
Bonus:36 (Sept. 24)
Megabucks: 3, 7, 20, 24, 29, 32
(Sept. 23)

CAFFEINE LEVELS Comparison of caffeine levles, measured in milligrams, in coffee and various sodas. The federal maximum caffeine content of a 12 ounce beverage is 72 milligrams; 51 milligrams is average. (Beverage / caffeine / size) -COFFEE - 135 milligrams - typical cup -JOLT - 72 milligrams - 12 ounces (federal maximum) -JOSTA - 58 milligrams - 12 ounces -MOUNTAIN DEW - 55 milligrams - 12 ounces -SURGE - 51 milligrams - 12 ounces (average) -COKE - 45 milligrams - 12 ounces

NORWALK, Conn. - Standing outside Starbucks in Westport on a late summer afternoon, 18-year-old Vanessa Karam recalled her first cuppa joe.

''I was 10 years old when I asked my dad, 'Can I have a cup of coffee with you?''' said Karam, who graduated this year from Staples High School.

''When I was little, I really liked it. And when I was studying in school, I'd make the pilgrimage to Amoco for some Green Mountain coffee.''

Karam, her younger sister Samantha, and their friend Ryan Young, 18, said coffee and its caffeinated brethren, sodas and coffee drinks, are very popular among their peers.

And Starbucks is the place to hang out and drink cappuccinos, lattes and Frappuccino, a frothy cold coffee drink.

Samantha Karam, 16, said she heard warnings about caffeine when she was younger, and its dangers have been mentioned in health classes, but she didn't seem overly concerned about it.

She said she just started drinking coffee in the past few weeks.

''They talked about drugs, and about caffeine being one of them, about being addicted to caffeine,'' she said, in between sips of a Starbucks Frappuccino, a frothy coffee concoction. ''But the kids kind of laugh at it - they sell it in school.''

The Karams and Young are typical of many young people, teen-aged and under, for whom caffeine consumption - via coffee, tea, coffee-flavored beverages or high-octane sodas - is part of fitting in and being social.

A 1994 survey by the Agricultural Department found children and teen-agers drink on average more than 64 gallons of soda a year. This amount had doubled for children aged 6-11 since 1978, and tripled for teens during the same period.

''Surge is a big thing,'' said Young, referring to a soda made by Coca-Cola with 51 milligrams of caffeine in a 12-ounce can, compared with 135 milligrams in a typical cup of coffee.

''Yeah, kids will be like, 'I need my Surge,''' added Vanessa Karam.

''They have names like Jolt, Surge, Grenade - it's all marketing, and they like the way it makes them feel,'' said Dean Martin, a Wilton pediatrician.

Martin says he sees teen-agers over the past couple of years experiencing symptoms of caffeine withdrawal: headaches, trouble concentrating, fatigue. Some of them, Martin said, come to him complaining about being on edge, racing or irregular heartbeats and difficulty sleeping.

''The kids see adults getting their morning caffeine fix at Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks to go,'' Martin said, ''and get it in carbonated beverages, certainly in some brands of bottled water and even in some fruit drinks.''

James M. Cain, who owns eight Dunkin' Donuts in Greater Norwalk, said java beverages such as Coolatta and iced coffees are popular among young people.

Cain said he had not heard of studies showing the effect of caffeine on young people.

''People are going to drink what they enjoy,'' Cain said.

''I've got two teen-aged boys, and they drink (coolattas). But does that mean they drink more of it because it has more coffee in it? No.''

Some studies have linked caffeine use to bone loss, because it inhibits the body's ability to absorb calcium.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest and other groups are urging the Food and Drug Administration to require product labels that reflect caffeine use, including insomnia, miscarriages and poor nutrition.

Patricia Lieberman, a senior science policy fellow at the center, said caffeine need not be added to soft drinks popular to children.

''The issue is, do you think kids need a mildly addictive stimulant drug when most kids I know are energetic enough already?'' Lieberman said.

Jim Finklestein, executive vice president of the National Soft Drink Association, said caffeine is added for the taste.

''It's always been a flavor enhancer,'' Finklestein said. ''It's a bitter that brings out the flavor in soft drinks.''

Lieberman said the soda companies may add it for taste, ''but I'm sure they don't mind the fact it is mildly addictive, and may cause people to crave their product.''

In Canada, only colas can have caffeine - meaning Mountain Dew and Sunkist Orange go without. That somewhat dilutes the taste argument, Lieberman said.

Toni Ann Rotondo, manager of food and nutrition at Norwalk Hospital, said caffeine stimulates the cardiac muscle and central nervous system and is a diuretic, causing more fluid loss than normal.

''It's found to cause disrupted sleep patterns and agitation,'' Rotondo said. ''It can also cause excess stomach acidity and other gastrointestinal problems.''

Surge is a success, said Scott Williamson of Coca Cola in Atlanta. The citrus-flavored soft drink ''has pretty broad appeal,'' he said, but it's marketed to teens and 20-year-olds.

Surge's 51 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces ''is in the same range as many other soft drinks,'' he said.

By comparison, Jolt has 72 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces - the federal maximum - Pepsi's Josta has 58, Mountain Dew 55 and Coke 45.

Williamson said those concerned about caffeine can drink Sprite or caffeine-free Coke.

David Cole, a former member of the West Rocks Middle School PTO in Norwalk, said he was amazed how quickly bottles of Surge were drained at a middle school string ensemble pizza party last spring.

''I remember the parents had lots of bottles of Sprite and Coke, and 3-liter bottles of Surge,'' Cole said. ''As soon as the kids saw the Surge, they disappeared. They came up and consumed it extremely rapidly. Then they came up and asked, 'Hey, have you got more Surge?' I didn't know what it was.''

While Cole's daughter Dana said she only drinks about one can of Coke a day, Martin said he has seen teen-aged girls in his office who drink up to 12 cans of caffeinated diet soda per day.

''Girls like it because it keeps their weight down, but they substitute it for more nutritious snacks,'' Martin said. ''It gives them a boost, more energy and they won't gain weight. These are trendy beverages for kids.''

Teens don't only get their caffeine from home or the local deli. Local high schools have soda machines, the proceeds from which go toward class fund-raising for activities and fund-raising for activities and scholarships.

Norwalk school Superintendent Victor Herbert said caffeine was considered as part of a substance abuse awareness program in Phoenix, where he ran a high school district.

Herbert said groups which sell caffeinated products as part of school fund-raisers should think about their effects on children. ''It may not be the best way to do fund-raising,'' he said.