I’ve heard rumors that oxygen bars exist on the west coast. Said bars being places where you can go in, strap on a face mask, and suck down some pure O2 (provided you have no medical history that would make this activity unwise). Is this true? If so, how does the medical community view it? Can I open one on the east coast, perhaps start an entire chain, or would some dumb-ass law get in my way?
An Oxygen Bar in LA co-owned by Woody Harrelson just went out of business, so perhaps they are not viewed favorably by people who want to spend money.
The only thing I’ve heard of like this is in Mexico City, where they use little vending-machine-type things. Don’t know how common they are, and I don’t know if it was pure oxygen or just a rich mixture. Anyway, it’s mainly for lowlanders and gringos and stuff who find the high-pollution, low-oxygen ambient stuff hard to get by on.
A rat kept at one atmosphere pressure in pure oxygen will be dead within twenty-four hours. Oxygen, although we need it for respiration, has damaging by-products called free radicals that you don’t want to encourage. They’ve been linked to many of the effects of aging, as well as cancer. And at high concentrations, as with the rat just mentioned, oxygen is simply poisonous.
At higher pressures than one atmosphere, pure oxygen will kill even more quickly. Even though O2 won’t cause the bends, deep sea divers do not use pure oxygen in their tanks, opting instead for inert gases like helium or argon to replace the nitrogen of air.
In lower doses, oxygen DOES give you a little pep and makes you feel good, and this, I think is the idea of an Oxygen bar. But you’re still exposing yourself to more free radicals than otherwise, so claims that it’s good for you should be treated with suspicion.
Also, since oxygen is colorless and tasteless, and the effects of a little O2 boost are mild, you may have trouble convinving consumers they’re getting their money’s worth. How do you know it wasn’t just air? Not a good business prospect, really.
An Oxy bar just opened in Garland, a sub. of Dallas that has a basically blue collar reputation( The guy who created King of the Hill is from Garland,thats the kind of place it is). Cost ten bucks for ten minutes. They don’t pipe pure oxygen into the customers, the mask allows air in too. According to the paper these things are making money all over.In fact the guy who opened it is a bit surprised at how good business is.All you need to open up your own bar is a tank of medical grade O2 and a hose. Just don’t light a match, or business could really be booming.
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
Gives new meaning to the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
They have numerous oxygen bars in Japan. If an individual’s oxygen saturation is over 90…certainly 95 or over and the individual has no known cardiac pulmonary problem, O2 in an O2 bar does essentially nothing for that person. There is no question that oxygen is a DRUG and should be taken only when medically indicated.