Mongolians drink oxygen cocktails to cope with smog in world's most polluted capital

Ulaanbaatar is more polluted than New Delhi and Beijing, with UNICEF warning of a health crisis due to the smog.

'Oxygen cocktails'  are advertised as being 'like a walk in lush forest'
Image: 'Oxygen cocktails' are advertised as being 'like a walk in a lush forest'
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Mongolians have resorted to sipping "oxygen cocktails" to protect themselves in the world's most polluted city.

People in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, are buying £1.45 cans of oxygen from supermarkets to add to juice to defend themselves from the crippling smog.

The city beat New Delhi and Beijing to be the world's most polluted capital in 2016, UNICEF said in a report warning of a health crisis.

Every child and pregnancy is at risk due to the pollution, the report said.

The smog is exacerbated by people living in ger (slum) districts who use coal stoves to cook and heat their homes in the world's coldest capital, where temperatures can dip as low as -40C (-40F).

On 30 January, air pollution was 133 times higher than the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

And UNICEF found that cases of respiratory infections have almost tripled, with pneumonia now the second leading cause of death for children under five.

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There have been demonstrations in Ulaanbaatar because of the pollution
Image: There have been demonstrations in Ulaanbaatar because of the pollution

Concerned parents have held protests calling for the government to take action.

The canned oxygen industry is booming as companies cash in on the fear, despite a WHO official saying there is no evidence such products work.

Adverts claim that "drinking just one oxygen cocktail is equal to a three-hour walk in a lush forest".

One Russian brand, called "Life Is Air", says a glass of juice can be turned into a foamy, sweet "oxygen cocktail" after it is sprayed into a glass through a special straw.

Oxygen cocktail machines, which look like coffee makers, have popped up in shops and pharmacies to turn any juice into a frothy oxygen drink for 73p.

Ulaanbaatar was the most polluted city in the world in 2016
Image: Ulaanbaatar was the most polluted capital city in the world in 2016

Pregnant women are some of the biggest buyers, with doctors even advising them to drink the cocktails.

Mother of three Batbayer Munguntuul, a 34-year-old accountant, drank the cocktails while she was pregnant but said she spent more money on medicine to combat the effects of pollution.

"Every winter we constantly buy medicine," she said. "It has reached a point that it is like just any other grocery product that you have to buy regularly."

Many Mongolians also have air purifiers, with Ms Munguntuul's costing £220.

Teas which claim to clean lungs are also popular, with Dr Baatar's special tea sales surging by 20 to 30% during winter, when pollution reaches its peak.

Baatar Chantsaldulam, CEO of Dr Baatar's tea, said: "First it takes all the toxins out of the blood, then it turns the toxins in the lung into mucus, and all the plants in tea helps boost the human immune system."

'Life is air' oxygen cans cost $2
Image: 'Life is air' oxygen cans cost $2

The WHO has dismissed the benefit of the oxygen cocktails and lung cleansing teas, saying the "real solution" is to reduce air pollution and exposure to it.

Maria Neira, head of the WHO's public health department said: "The business community will offer plenty of those solutions.

"We don't have any scientific evidence whether they provide any benefit."

NGO Parents Against Smog said the government is not doing enough to reduce pollution and has called for 200,000 ger residents to have access to loans so they can install insulation and replace stoves with cleaner heaters.

Between 2008-2016 the government spent £87.2m to combat pollution, with half of that coming from its foreign aid revenue.