I don't think it is 'all your doing'. I think your trying to jump on the bandwagon like everyone else. This is a very angery article which is obviously shrouded in personal opinions & politics.

Tap water doesn't taste anything like bottled water. Don't get me wrong - i drink tap water, but don't try lecturing people with blatant silly statements like that.

Couple with the fact that Alan Johnson (our health secretary) has ordered all public water to contain flouride (a substance 20 times more poisonous that lead). There are so many studies linking the correlations of flouride against high cancer levels. Indeed the government own report concluded that further research was required.

What choice do we have? - I think we have no choice but to drink bottled water without putting ourselves in harms way.
I think we'll see an increased demand for bottled water once such meddling starts.

ian, manchester, uk

Does our restaurant reviewer eat meat? Beef in particular poses far worse environmental problems than bottled water: consider that it takes 8kg of grain to raise 1kg of beef - this puts immense needless pressure on arable land and is, in fact, one of the main drivers of tropical deforestation. The energy demands, methane emissions, and deforestation involved in the beef industry contribute more greenhouse gases than the entire global transport sector. Worse, the eating of beef is viewed as normal and rational, whereas the snobbish indulgence in expensive bottled water is the domain of a minority of gourmand twits with more money than brains. It seems a waste of time and energy to pick on bottled water while there are far more serious environmental problems on our dinner plates.

Hugh, Oxford, England

http://www.thewaterproject.com

We're calling on people to stop drinking exhorbitantly over priced bottled water and donating the money saved to finance clean watrer infrastructure in undevelopped and developping areas of Africa. We've only been around about a year but we've already started making a difference and we continue to expand the area we are serving.

Alex, Saint John, Canada

In countries where the water is good enough for drinking then all govt and its agencies should set an example by not using bottles particularly during conferences and meetings.

c goh, rickmansworth, uk

Given the water around here is so full of limescale, I would not even wash my car with it, never mind drink the stuff, what's the alternative? Fit a chemical filter and drink some weird stuff? I dont think so, I'll stick to bottled water.

Arthur, Newcastle,

This might apply in the US. But in India we cant drink from the tap as its contaminated and mixed with every toxin possible.

Hari, Bgl, Ind

Wella - please!

I take it your one of those of people who has loads of "allegies" mmm if you really believe you have these problems then why not get a filter attached to your tap?

claire, london,

A Republican is a Republican, is a Republican. It isn't the John McCain running for President. It is the philosophy of that party. Just think what harm Bush and Cheney have done to this country! Bush would like to blame someone else. They are Republican and are suppose to be running things.The criminal behavior is theirs.It might help if the Republicans could pick someone intelligent. Remember that photo on TV when it showed McCain with a little movement saying "Bomb,bomb,bomb Iran" Even if it was meant to be a joke,do we really want someone with such poor judgement.Then,with all of that protection in Bagdad, he was walking through the market place talking about how safe it was. Granted,he was a war hero but that doesn't translate into being President.

Betty McKenzie, Adrian, Mo.

Bottled water is an unnecessary luxury. The smarter, more environmentally friendly choice would be to use a water filter and re-useable bottles. There is absolutely no reason to pay over $1 a bottle for something readily available at home.

Get more info about bottled water and its impact on the environment at www.BottledWaterBlues.com

Susan, Los Angeles, CA

Bottled spring water is not the same as tap water - it's far more easily digestible. People suffering from stomach problems can often tolerate it when they can't cope with tap water. So it does have a very specific medicinal use.

Wella, Canterbury,

Yes, I am sure that you ride everywhere on your bicycle after eating locally sourced produce and wearing clothes and shoes manufactured from the sheep and cattle in your garden Giles! Hows about the fact that bottle water is essentially pure (yes, no chemicals) and comes on the same containers that bring over wine/fruit and other produce.

Its easy to bring anything down to the lowest base level, cheese is CHEESE (Brie = supermarket value cheese), freshly squeezed orange juice is the same as concentrate stuff, and theres no difference between a £5 wine and a £50?
They all look and are called the same right? WRONG!

This article should say "drink soft drinks not bottled water when out...!!"

Christopher John, London, England

Spot on!!!

Greg Gulbrandsen, Bend, Oregon, USA