China Will Strengthen Its Control of Caffeine

INTERNATIONAL July 1997

On June 3, the newspaper Health Daily reported that China will tighten control of the sale and production of caffeine this year. The new regulations will make it more difficult for caffeine to be used for illegal purposes, the newspaper said. The Chinese government will also try to reduce from 13 to 10 the number of approved producers of caffeine. In China, caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee are popular. The newspaper said there was an increase in caffeine-related crimes (Reuter, "China to tighten control of caffeine," June 3, 1997).