Is this perhaps another Thalidomide_scandal?

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_megadosage for some history.

This is personal to me as I am currently suffering kidney failure, and years ago my father died from it in combination with other problems. 

As I was growing up my mother (whom I love and respect deeply but we all make mistakes) was influenced by Linus_Pauling to force myself and my father and others in the household to take two grams of vitamin C every morning in the form of two effervescent tablets, one of Berocca and one of Redoxon, both disolved in a single glass of water.

My father (a scientist) complained that he was concerned about the affect on the kidneys of this, but my mother was a strong and determined person. Two grams is currently regarded by some authorities as the maximum safe daily intake. But note that word intake. It means that those two grams of supplemental vitamin C were safe if and only if we had no other source of vitamin C. And in practice almost all foods contain vitamin C. Even potatoes for example. All living tissues contain vitamin C, and nearly all foods are living tissues until shortly before being assimilated. A healthy diet (which we otherwise had) contains lots of vitamin C without needing a supplement.

I was for a long time unaware of the short-term effect this had on me, although I knew I was often sleepy at work. Then one day the morning tea trolley ran out of milk, and I didn't like black tea or coffee so I bought a Prima orange juice from the trolley instead. And it was fortified with vitamin C. And my sleepiness disappeared. So this became part of my daily ritual... I kept a stock of Prima, which came in long shelf life single serve UHT tetrapacks, in my desk return ar work, and as soon as I felt drowsy I would drink one, and was able to carry on.  (I notice that Prima is no longer advertised as fortified with vitamin C.)

My experence is just one data point, but watch this space as eventually I hope I will find some serious research into what may well be a similar and perhaps even equally tragic  although less spectacular fiasco to the Thalidomide_scandal.