In 2006, ThinkGeek presented a fake product called Buzzaire, a caffeine inhaler that gained popularity. Starbucks planned to release a mint-flavored inhaler in late 2006, but it was also a joke. Caffeine inhalers for medicinal use may make sense, but the only similar drug is caffeine citrate. The fictional caffeine inhalers were intended as a joke about people’s dependence on caffeine and the “on the go” lifestyle.
On April 1, 2006, the ThinkGeek company, which specializes in numerous caffeine-based products, presented its latest invention: Buzzaire. Buzzaire used to be a caffeine inhaler, and soon the internet community expressed a great desire for caffeine inhalers so they could get their caffeine buzz, a whopping 150 milligrams in an asthmatic-type inhaler, without having to ingest the stuff. You may already be suspicious given the date caffeine inhalers were introduced. In fact the product was a parody, it never existed and was an elaborate April Fool’s joke.
Not everyone was aware of the joke, and the caffeine inhaler talk continued throughout much of 2006. Included in the lore of these mythical nebulizing products was that Starbucks® planned to release a mint-flavored inhaler in late 2006 Those who were wise knew it was an attempt to revise the April Fool’s joke that happened earlier in the year. Much of the talk about caffeine inhalers died down by 2007, although there are still references to them in blogs.
While it’s a joke on the surface, the idea of caffeine inhalers used to treat asthma might make sense. When a person with asthma is without their inhaler, one recommendation is to drink a cup of strong black coffee, which can help minimize an asthma attack. There is no clear evidence that a real caffeine inhaler is as effective as a cup of coffee, but it may have some medicinal use.
About the only thing that comes close in real life to caffeine inhalers is the drug, caffeine citrate. This intravenously administered drug (intravenous line) has a very serious purpose, very different from non-existent inhalers. It is used in some premature babies to stimulate breathing when apnea (when breathing stops) may occur. Also, many of the drugs given in real inhalers, especially albuterol, can make people feel shivering and jittery, just like you’ve had a massive dose of caffeine.
The fictional caffeine inhalers ThinkGeek invented, however, were not intended for medicinal use. They were intended as a caffeine delivery system that would almost immediately enter the bloodstream, and are something of a joke about how people depend on caffeine. Who has time to drink a cup of coffee when you can just inhale the caffeine instead? You can turn a coffee break into two quick shots. Maybe it’s a comment not only on caffeine addiction, but also on the “on the go” life of most people.
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