People need to drink more water. The consumption of water, whether from the bottle or the tap, is a good thing, but banning or restricting access to bottled water on a college campus, while keeping available less healthy sodas and sports drinks, would prevent people from choosing the healthiest packaged beverage on the shelf.
One of the simplest things that a person can do when seeking to lead a healthier lifestyle is to drink water instead of other beverages that are heavy with sugar and calories. If someone wants to eliminate or moderate calories, sugar, caffeine, artificial flavors or colors, and other ingredients from their diet, choosing water is the right choice – whether from the tap, filtered, or in a bottle.
A National Park Service (NPS) policy that allows individual parks to ban the sale of bottled water, but not other less-healthy drinks also packaged in plastic –– soft drinks, sports drinks, juice drinks, and other sugary packaged beverages –– denies park visitors the simple option of buying the healthiest packaged drink on the shelf, while at the same time making readily available a broad selection of unhealthy drinks packaged in heavier plastic bottles and which use more water to make.
Some long-time bottled water critics are taking advantage of the recent voluntary product recall by one bottled water company in Pennsylvania by attempting to scare and confuse consumers. The fact is, consumers can remain confident about the safety and reliability of their bottled water.
Consumers are Choosing Bottled Water
Since 1998, approximately 73% of the growth in bottled water consumption has come from people switching from carbonated soft drinks, juices, and milk to bottled water. Consumers are choosing bottled water instead of less healthy packaged beverages.
IBWA recently developed a helpful new infographic designed to visually communicate some important facts about bottled water – namely that its water use and environmental footprint are far smaller than some might realize. It also shows that bottled water is a healthy beverage and great choice for those seeking to make smarter choices when it comes to their diets and lifestyle decisions.
Featured Videos This cool video shows how bottled water is a very small and very efficient water user that spares people of billions of calories when they choose to drink water over other packaged drinks.
