---
title: "As Air Pollution Spikes, Indian “Bars” Sell Clean Oxygen"
description: "Selling breathing oxygen to those in need of fresh air: what was originally a recurring gag in the form of canned air in the 1987 sci-fi “Spaceballs” is now a reality in the form of oxygen bars popping up amidst India’s air quality crisis. Bars like Oxy Pure in New Delhi offer customers 15 […]"
date: "2019-11-18"
modified: "2019-11-18"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/air-pollution-indian-bars-clean-oxygen"
categories:
  - "Environment"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Pollution"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "air pollution"
  - "canned air"
  - "india"
  - "the digest"
---

# As Air Pollution Spikes, Indian “Bars” Sell Clean Oxygen

![Companies in India like Oxy Pure are selling customers access to pure oxygen as the area's air pollution becomes increasingly dangerous.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/air-pollution-indian-bars-clean-oxygen.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image:  Josh Hallett via Flickr\</em\>*

## Perri-air

Selling oxygen to those in need of fresh air to breathe: what was originally a recurring gag in the 1987 sci-fi "Spaceballs" is now a reality in the form of oxygen bars popping up amidst India's air quality crisis.

Bars like Oxy Pure in New Delhi offer customers 15 minutes of pure oxygen — scented if they like — through hospital-like breathing apparatuses, [according to *The New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/world/asia/india-pollution.html>). And while the bars themselves are capitalizing on the public's need for air, the fact that there's a market for them at all is a troubling sign for the people who are stuck between [dangerous conditions](<https://futurism.com/researchers-find-pollution-biggest-global-threat-human-health>) and economic exploitation.

## Deep Breath

India's government declared a state of emergency over its unhealthy air earlier this month. In New Delhi, a combination of pollution, debris from construction, and other fumes have the air so dangerous that it's been linked to brain damage in children, per the *NYT*.

Oxy Pure owner Aryavir Kumar pointed out to the *NYT* that people have gotten used to purchasing bottled water — so why not air too?

Unfortunately, with the Indian government acting slowly, if at all, on dangerous levels of air pollution, [privatized solutions](<https://futurism.com/self-filling-water-bottles-arrived-just-viable>) like oxygen bars may be people's only respite for the foreseeable future.

**READ MORE:** [India, Choking on Toxic Air, Tries Something New: An Oxygen Bar](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/world/asia/india-pollution.html>) \[*The New York Times*\]

**More on bottled air:** *[Self Filling Water Bottles Have Arrived, but Just How Viable Are They?](<https://futurism.com/self-filling-water-bottles-arrived-just-viable>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)