Bottled water trumps milk, nears beer

This is a interesting report!!

It show that American need to understand the health issue & stability of Oxygen in bottled water & other repated issue.

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Bottled water trumps milk, nears beer

By DUANE D. STANFORD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/04/07

Twenty years ago, people scoffed at the notion that highfalutin bottled water made by companies like Perrier and Crystal Springs would ever catch on with the masses. Why would people pay for something they could get at the kitchen sink for next to nothing, the doubters asked?

Boy were they wrong. For the first time ever, Americans on average drank more bottled water in 2006 than milk, according to an industry newsletter that tracks U.S. beverage sales.

And Americans drank nearly as much bottled water as beer.

If the trend continues, Americans could be drinking more bottled water than tap water within a few years.

John Sicher, publisher of industry newsletter Beverage Digest, which tabulated the consumption figures, said portability and health are the key reasons for bottled water's popularity.

"Tap water is in trouble," he quipped.

Beverage Digest's figures showed average per capita consumption of bottled water grew from 11 to 21 gallons between 1996 and 2006.

Consumption of milk dropped from 22.7 to 19.5 gallons over the 10-year span, while beer consumption was steady at 21.8.

Soft drink consumption dropped from 52 to 50.9 gallons, according to the figures.