Bottled water consumption habits in Estonian residents and their opinions of possible health hazards

Abstract

Abstract Human needs about 28-15 mL/kg body weight of water daily (National Institute for Health Development). The sources of drinking water are either tap water, private wells or bottled water. According to the Health Board of Estonia, 89.13% of Estonian population used tap water in 2016 and 88.87% in 2017. Of all the consumers, 99.2% used water, for which the microbiological, chemical and indicator parameters did not exceed any normative (except for radiological parameters) (Joogivee..., 2017). However, more and more people are consuming bottled water and this trend is global (Kodumaine..., 2016). For example, in Estonia 72% of consumers used bottled water in 2007 (Noop & Riivits-Arkonsuo, 2007). Different authors bring out that convenience, purity, better taste, better odour and quality were the main reasons for consuming the bottled water (Foote, 2011; Akpinar & Gul 2014). Some studies have shown that socio-demographic factors influence bottled water consumptions (Rothwell, 2006; Dupont et al, 2010). The aim of this research was to determine the bottled water consumption habits of Estonian residents and their subjective assessment of the potential health impact of bottled water. The sample of this research were Estonian residents (n = 869) who agreed to take the online questionnaire through 21.11.2016-20.01.2017. For statistical analysis, X2 - test was used. The conclusions of the research were: 1. Most of the respondents use bottled water and the main reasons are convenience and good taste or odour. 2. Factors as gender, income, education or having children do not affect the consumption of bottled water, but age and marital status do as younger and single or married/in relationship respondents buy bottled water more frequently. 3. About half of the respondents could not tell if the consumption of bottled water can affect health or not. Those respondents who thought that it could, mentioned carcinogenicity, digestive problems, toxicity and bad influence on teeth. Key messages Most of the respondents use bottled water, even if the tap water is of good quality, safe and cheaper, and the main reasons are convenience and good taste or odour. About half of the respondents could not tell if the consumption of bottled water can affect health or not.