My chief argument in favor of bottled water – assuming that it’s natural spring water from a reputable source -- is the fact that it’s the healthiest drink that people can bring along with them, whether out walking, jogging or driving. Spring water contains none of the unhealthy additives apt to be found in soda, iced tea and most fruit juices, including such sweetening agents as high fructose corn syrup and aspartame (which has been the source of many health complaints).

It’s also interesting to me that in all the controversy over spring water being sold in plastic bottles, no one ever seems to mention the fact that the carbonated chemical cocktails known as soft drinks are sold in similar bottles, or that plastic containers are used for a variety of other items ranging from shampoos to detergents, which are just as likely to end up in landfills as water bottles (if not more so).

The contentions on which those who oppose the use of bottled water seem to focus are that (a) the quality of water that comes out of a tap is just as good as that of bottled water, if not better, and (a) those individuals who are inclined to drink water should be more environmentally conscious than the kinds of people who drink soda, and should therefore refuse to buy anything that comes in a plastic bottle.

But the fact is that people who choose a healthier lifestyle (and who are thus more inclined to drink water in the first place) are also apt to be more conscientious about recycling the bottles they use. They also know that the quality of tap water is unreliable and can vary from place to place. Besides having had chlorine added to it, it may contain a number of unwanted impurities, including iron or lead leeching from older municipal pipes,. There is also the possibility it may have been contaminated with pathogens – something that usually doesn’t come to people’s attention unless the authorities order them to start boiling their tap water.

Then there’s the issue of fluoridation. Fluoride is currently added to roughly two-thirds of the tap water in the United States for the purpose of preventing cavities. But while the Centers for Disease Control and many health authorities vouch for the safety and effectiveness of this program, it also has many critics, including present and former scientists for the Environmental Protection Agency, who maintain that it is neither. They cite the facts that fluoride is considered by the EPA to be a toxic substance, and claim that it has been associated with a variety of health problems, including a rare cancer, hip fractures, and a condition known as dental fluorosis that causes teeth to become discolored and brittle.

For that reason, a lot of Americans might prefer not to drink fluoridated water, or have their children ingest it. While fluoride can be removed from tap water via a somewhat expensive filtration system known as reverse osmosis, drinking bottled spring water to which fluoride has not been added gives people a simpler way of avoiding it if they so choose, especially when they’re away from home.

All of which isn’t to say that all bottled water is created equal. While many people may buy it because they believe its purity is superior, that may not necessarily be the case. Some varieties, for instance, are nothing more than treated tap water, while spring water, depending on its source, may contain contaminants, and is not inspected for quality nearly as often as tap water. With a little discernment and research, however, it should be easy enough to find those brands that can be relied on to offer a relatively pure product from a natural, relatively pristine source.

But what bothers me most is the way the bottled water industry seems to have been singled out for condemnation, even while its critics give a pass to all the other uses of plastic containers and ignore the fact that bottled spring water is a much healthier alternative for those on the go than sweetened, chemical-laden beverages.

With obesity practically epidemic and childhood diabetes on the rise, shouldn’t our main focus be on health issues and what we want to encourage our kids to drink, rather than on making bottled water the scapegoat for the problem of unnecessary energy use and our failure to effectively recycle and reuse our waste products?