The camel syndrome

Abstract

Aim: Description and analysis from an ethical point of view of the habit of young people nowadays to carry around a bottle of water at all times. Quintessence: This paper describes the habit and discusses its possible origin as well as some rituals and rules attached to the drinking of the water. Ethical questions are raised, such as a possible 'aqua gap' related to socio-economic circumstances within affluent Western societies and the problem of global justice in a world where the availability of clean drinking water is so unequally divided. It is strange that the notion of a 'healthy addiction' does not seem to attract the attention of ethicists. Conclusions: The first conclusion is that the habit, because it is a healthy habit, influences views on what is considered to be polite or socially acceptable, such as the right to drink from a water bottle during theatre performances. The second conclusion is that there are lessons to be learned: that bottled water drinking is considered 'cool' can make many adapt to a healthy habit in a relatively short time. This could be useful for health education purposes. © 2007 Springer-Verlag.