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Calls to poison centers about kava —  a drug found in drinks marketed as a healthy alternative to alcoholic beverages —  rose 383% between 2011 and 2025, according to a new UVA Health study.

Poison centers received 203 kava-related calls in 2025, up from 57 in 2011, according to researchers from UVA Health Blue Ridge Poison Center. Men ages 20 and older accounted for the largest number of calls.

Calls involving the combined use of kava and kratom, a drug frequently found for sale in gas stations and vape shops, also have increased substantially in recent years, accounting for 30% of all kava-related calls in 2025. (The Blue Ridge Poison Center recently published a report showing a spike in kratom-related calls.) This increase coincided with the growing availability of products containing kava and kratom.

As the number of kava-related calls increased in recent years, so too, did the percentage of exposures that led to severe health outcomes such as adverse neurological and cardiovascular effects. In 2025, 32% of exposures involved severe health outcomes, topped only by 39% of exposures in 2024.

“The number of kava-related calls to poison centers decreased after the 2002 Food and Drug Administration public warning associating liver failure with kava ingestion,” says Chris Holstege, MD, Director, Blue Ridge Poison Center. “We are now experiencing an increase in calls again as new kava products enter the market, including products mixed with other substances such as kratom that can cause adverse interactions.”

What Is Kava?

Kava is a plant native to the Pacific Islands, where its root has traditionally been used to make a beverage consumed at cultural and social events. The primary active ingredient in kava, called kavalactones, acts as a sedative and can reduce anxiety. 

Since the 1990s, kava drinks, pills and extracts have become increasingly available in the United States. These commercial kava products are unregulated and anywhere from two to 10 times more potent than traditional kava beverages, increasing the risk for health issues such as rapid heartbeat, vomiting, and nausea. There also have been a few reports of liver injury. Potential health effects such as seizures and tremors are more serious among people who consume kava and kratom.

UVA Health researchers led by Rita Farah, PhD, MPH, found the steady increase in kava-related calls since 2011 followed a decade-long decline from 2001 to 2011 that occurred after the FDA’s kava advisory in 2002.

Kava-related calls to poison centers dropped from 331 in 2001 to 42 in 2010 before beginning to increase again in 2011. Eight kava-related deaths were reported between 2000 and 2025.

The UVA Health researchers hope their findings will help increase public awareness of the potential health risks of consuming products with kava.

“These new kava products are found in stores throughout our area,” Dr. Holstege says. “The public needs to be aware of potential complications associated with the consumption of these products.”

Findings Published

The researchers have published their findings in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly bulletin, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The research team consisted of Eleanor Blair Towers, Ivy L. Williams, Holstege, and Farah. A list of the authors’ disclosures is included in the publication.

To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA School of Medicine and the new UVA Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, bookmark the Making of Medicine blog.