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What the FDA labels say about taking them together

Caffeine and cimetidine

Caffeine's FDA label of July 29, 2026 names cimetidine in its drug interactions section; the cimetidine label PlainMeds reads does not name caffeine. The caffeine label: “Based on adult data, lower doses of caffeine may be needed following coadministration of drugs which are reported to decrease caffeine elimination and higher caffeine doses may be needed following coadministration of …”

Check it at the source: the caffeine FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 29, 2026, Sagent Pharmaceuticals); the cimetidine FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 15, 2026, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.).

What does the caffeine label say about cimetidine?

Caffeine label, drug interactions

Based on adult data, lower doses of caffeine may be needed following coadministration of drugs which are reported to decrease caffeine elimination (e.g., cimetidine and ketoconazole) and higher caffeine doses may be needed following coadministration of drugs that increase caffeine elimination (e.g., phenobarbital and phenytoin).

Source: FDA drug label (caffeine citrate), Sagent Pharmaceuticals, effective July 29, 2026 (SPL set 5f38c395-0093-4afd-89ec-f96e5dc0934a), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

What does the cimetidine label say about caffeine?

Cimetidine's label (effective July 15, 2026) does not name caffeine in these sections. A label lists what its studies and reports found; it is not a complete list.

Source: FDA drug label (Cimetidine), Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective July 15, 2026 (SPL set 06c0a509-026f-44e0-9975-a94a8de51d43), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

These are the labels' own sentences. PlainMeds does not grade interactions; a pharmacist or prescriber can say what they mean for one person's medicines.

Both medicines on the record

7Caffeine generic labelers
18Cimetidine generic labelers
CaffeineCimetidine
Labeled forn/aAcid reflux and ulcers
Boxed warningNoNo
Pharmacy cost (NADAC)$0.083 per tablet 200 mg tablet$0.236 per tablet 300 mg tablet
Shortage nowNo current entryNo current entry

Source: FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026 and the FDA Drug Shortage Database (FDA files October 8, 2026)

What next?