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Would You Pay For Air?

 

You heard it right. We have arrived to a point where we can buy not only bottled water, but canned air, as well. To be honest, this is not only air, it is the essence of air. It contains the most essential element of air: oxygen (oxigén terápia). That is why the new product, that some savvy marketers try to introduce, is called canned oxygen. I am sure you ask yourself now: But why would I pay for something that is free? The question is good, but remember: This is exactly the same question that people asked themselves, when bottled water was introduced. Years later, millions of people buy bottled water everyday all around the world, while they could get tap water (almost) for free. They say that bottled water is healthier than tap water, it tastes better, and they can take it anywhere. These are the same reasons, that make bottled oxygen better than normal air.

 

However, the concept of paying for oxygen is not entirely new. You may remember the oxygen bars (oxigén bár) which were famous in the ’90s. People would spend about 20 minutes breathing pure oxygen, while relaxing and listening to chilling music. More often than not, the oxygen would come in different flavors or scents, like mint, citrus, orange or strawberry. You had to put a special mask on, so you looked something like a hospital patient. But after a treatment, you felt more relaxed, healthier and energized. Oxygen bars have become a social phenomenon, at least for the more upscale and sophisticated crowd. Now, marketers want to take this concept to the next level. They want to offer oxygen to ordinary people, for everyday use. The producers are quickly building up connections with distributors, who already started to offer canned oxygen products in supermarkets, grocery stores and spas. Still, many people think that the idea is weird or too futuristic, but the success of bottled water started the same way, so there may be a huge potential and endless possibilities in it.

 

The companies claim that bottled oxygen is useful against several problems. It helps relieve stress, headaches, jetlag, altitude sickness and hangovers. It promotes healthy hair, and helps reduce the aging of the skin. It increases libido and enhances sexual performance. It creates an energizing feeling after a workout in the gym, or at a sports event. Are these the facts? Well, oxygen therapy has quite a long history already, and everybody knows that oxygen is essential for life. Besides, famous celebrities like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Axl Rose and Mick Jagger have been reported to use some form of oxygen therapy. In fact, air contains only 21% oxygen, while the bottle has pure (90%) oxygen in it. In the most polluted cities like Tokyo or Beijing, some people start to see the benefits of bottled oxygen. We will have to see what the future holds for canned oxygen, but until then, just keep breathing!

 

 

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 at 3:44 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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