sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (02/16/84)
CocaCola's original recipe back at the turn of the century called for coca leaves. Even now, coca leaves with the cocaine removed are part of the recipe. Every now and then someone starts wondering how much cocaine might still unavoidably be in Coke (answer: if any at all, not a physiologically significant amount.) I have NEVER heard that nicotine (or tobacco juice) was part of the recipe. Though we don't know CocaCola's recipe, we can at least attempt a pharmacological "thought experiment." If there was any significant amount of nicotine in Coke, we would expect typical "nicotinic" sympathetic and parasympathetic reactions after drinking it, especially in "Coke fiends." That is, nausea, sweating, increased heart rate and blood pressure. Any stimulant effect of CocaCola seems directly attributable to the caffeine present, and not to any nicotine. -- /Steve Dyer decvax!bbncca!sdyer sdyer@bbncca
marc@genrad.UUCP (Marc Smith) (02/16/84)
While my brother-in-law was working with the US Embassy in Lima Peru, the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta periodically purchased cocaine from the Peruvian government. He was involved since they needed boxes of paperwork to legally get the stuff into the country. Exactly what they did with the stuff was never disclosed. (This was about 2 years ago.) -- [decvax!genrad!]marc smith GenRad, Inc. Bolton Mass
urban@trwspp.UUCP (02/20/84)
The head of advertising for Coca-cola was on (some random business-type program) on PBS recently and was asked directly about the persistent rumors that Coca-cola now or at some other time contained cocaine. He claimed that Coke NEVER contained cocaine. Of course, who's gonna tell some ad executive? Mike
jaw@ames-lm.UUCP (James A. Woods) (02/21/84)
# When a woman loses her mystery, she is finished forever.
-- Yves St. Laurent,
"Opium" debut celebration, 1979
Probably recycling an oldie here, but I understand that the
"active ingredient" of Coca Cola is NICOTINE, supplied via tobacco juice,
and thus categorizable as a "natural flavoring." As such, I don't believe
we are dealing with an FDA Class 2 substance, though I do wonder about
regulations which might govern its use. Since nicotine toxicity is in
the milligram range, this speculation gives rise to the question of
a human LD-50 for this popular beverage.
-- James A. Woods {hao | menlo70}!ames-lm!jawljs@hlhop.UUCP (Lotta Stallman) (02/23/84)
As I recall, the active ingredient, or at least one important active ingredient, of CC is CAFFEINE. This famous stimulant found in tea and coffee is said to be a contributing element in the development of cystic mastitis, sometimes a precursor of breast cancer. In the old days, when Coke WAS Coke, the active ingredient was something a bit more dramatic -- Cocaine (whence the name). It's not like it used to be; but then, it never was... Lotta Stallman ATT Bell Laboratories Short Hills