(2) Even so, it would be possible to account for far more articles about coffee than would be “proportional” to the magnitude of its health effects, simply because of how wildly popular it is, and its role as a modern ‘social icon’ of sorts.

Put (1) and (2) together and you get the media equivalent of a caffeine addiction.

I used to drink the equivalent of 12 shots of espresso a day. In fact, I could rock out a cup of nasty NYC bodega sludge and fall asleep 20 minutes later. Now I can't drink it at all lest I have a panic attack, save a small decaf in the morning to fool my brain.

Caffeinism, caffeine allergy and caffeine induced organic mental disorder are real things.

I also wonder if there is any causality between the decline in the number of smokers and the rise in the amount of caffeine we consume.

That wouldn't surprise me at all. The idea that people with addictions often substitute one addictive behavior for another is conventional wisdom in counseling circles, I believe.

But I'm a former cancer researcher, I know people who have drunk themselves to death, and I have friends who counsel heroin addicts. So trust me when I say this: Caffeine is an excellent alternative.

At least you were able to stop drinking caffeine, and we're pretty sure that your liver or lungs aren't going to explode in ten years from the espresso abuse.