ABSTRACT
In order to provide health and social care professionals with a comprehensive understanding of the use of caffeine and nicotine by older adults, this chapter presents and discusses these two major psychostimulants separately, in their own individual sections, beginning with caffeine. However, older adults often use these two psychostimulants together. For example, drinking a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette: (1) after a meal; (2) before a new bingo game begins in the smoking section of the bingo hall; (3) during a coffee break at work; and (4) while chatting with friends. Both caffeine and nicotine have interesting histories, botany, pharmacology, and patterns of use. This chapter presents and discusses the patterns of caffeine and nicotine use by older adults in the U.S. during the new millennium. Particular attention is given to history of use; botany; and pharmacology, including physical and psychological dependence, overdosage, and unintentional poisoning. The chapter concludes each section on caffeine and nicotine with a thorough and comprehensive discussion of demonstrated effective approaches, including pharmacotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic (counseling) approaches for assessing, diagnosing, and treating caffeine, or more commonly nicotine, use disorder.
