Don’t sniff at the idea of canned fresh air

Acentury ago, people scoffed at the very idea of selling bottled drinking water — a resource freely and safely available from taps, at least in developed countries. Now this precious commodity is expected to become a $280-billion industry by 2020. Could bottled fresh air — another ‘free’ resource — follow suit, now that a canny Chinese-Canadian has taken to doing just that and shipping it to customers in smoggy foreign markets, notably China, for $28 a pop? That sippers of Perrier can become sniffers of Perri-air isn’t that far-fetched given how much consumers are willing to spend on wellness nowadays. Whipping out a canister of imported fresh air when venturing outdoors could be the ultimate status symbol, never mind its carbon footprint.

Whether this natural resource should be allowed to be commercially exploited without any taxes or licences needs to be examined. And, of course, guaranteeing authenticity may become an issue, as telling the difference between bottled Banff air from the Canadian Rockies and similar containers of Alpine, Himalayan, Andean, Carpathian or, indeed, Arctic vapours may not be easy. Moreover, if a price hierarchy develops depending on demand, there are strong chances of imported water being adulterated like Scotch: Haryana instead of Himalayan, Bareilly rather than Banff, etc.