Aug 11, 2008 6:17 pm US/Eastern
Instant Oxygen Flying Off NYC Pharmacy Shelves
But At $16 For 8 Oz., Doctor Says Public Is Being Played
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Instant Oxygen is flying off pharmacy shelves in NYC, but at $16 for just eight ounces, is it really worth it?
CBS
With 1 in 10 Americans is chronically sleep deprived people are looking for anything to boost their energy.
First there were Red Bull and double espressos, but now comes the latest -- canned oxygen!
CBS 2 HD decided to examine whether this is all just hot air.
It's the latest way to boost your energy. it claims to do everything from helping your workout to boosting your memory, relieving stress to curing a hangover. Kevin DelGaudio, the inventor of instant oxygen, turned to oxygen for his own energy needs.
"You know you start falling asleep at the wheel a couple of intakes of ox and I'm wide awake," DelGaudio said.
It's all over the Web and around the world. People looking to reverse the effects of pollution and inject more energy into their lives are turning to oxygen, whether bought at a bar or now, in a can. Instant Oxygen, which claims to be 99 percent pure oxygen, is sold at the pharmacy counter of Duane Reade stores.
"It's flying off the shelves," one store employee told CBS 2 HD.
New Yorkers we spoke to seemed skeptical.
"Yeah I'd try it," one said.
"Not a chance," added another.
Some healthcare professionals, however, are calling it a scam.
"This is a lot of nonsense, this oxygen in a can," Dr. Edward Eden said.
Eden, chief of pulmonary medicine at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, says, at $16 a can it's not worth it.
"It's in the head," Dr. Eden said. "People will take oxygen and they'll feel better for it, but it's not necessary. There's plenty of oxygen in the air that we breathe."
And when CBS 2 HD asked the makers of Instant Oxygen about any studies or medical proof for their health claims?
"We don't have medical proof because we are not a medical product. We're a recreational product," DelGaudio said.
A worker at Duane Reade told CBS 2 HD these cans are selling fast for only being in the stores about three weeks, but the Food & Drug Administration says there are no long-term, well-controlled scientific studies that support these claims for oxygen in healthy people, and doctors advise against it for lung or heart disease patients.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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