Before you buy that $20 can of oxygen at Yellowstone National Park, read this

Enter the Albertsons grocery store in Jackson, Wyoming, on your way to Grand Teton National Park and you'll see a display of canned oxygen for sale. Sandwiched between the energy drinks and potted plants, the cans promise "all-natural respiratory support" for "athletic performance and recovery" and "high-altitude acclimation," all for $19.99.

In the words of the brand Boost Oxygen, "help is here." And that help might come with a rosemary, peppermint or pink grapefruit aroma.

But doctors who have studied lung function at higher elevations for decades say that canned oxygen's benefits are short-term at best, aren't backed by any existing peer-reviewed scientific research and are likely overstated. Even the packaging, which calls oxygen weightless, is false. "I think there are a lot of unsubstantiated claims," said James Moloney, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital.

And while Boost Oxygen settled a lawsuit by Ventura County in 2024 for false advertising, the problem the cans claim to solve is, of course, very real.

Jackson sits at 6,237 feet above sea level. The top of the Grand Teton, the highest summit in Grand Teton National Park, is at 13,770 feet. Most of Yellowstone National Park lies at 6,000 feet or above. No matter where you are, the atmosphere is 21% oxygen. But higher elevation places have a lower barometric pressure than places at sea level or close to it, like San Francisco. Less pressure makes it harder for your body to receive an adequate amount of oxygen.

"When you're dealing with that, it's harder to make energy," Moloney said. "You don't have as much oxygen delivered to your cells, that translates into not being as strong." About 25% of people who come from sea level to higher altitude places get acute mountain sickness, or altitude sickness, a medical condition that happens when your body has difficulty adjusting to less oxygen availability.

Boost Oxygen, the most widespread and well-known canned oxygen brand after appearing on the show Shark Tank in 2019, is available at thousands of pharmacies, grocery stores and retailers in the country, as well as online. The brand dominates national park gateway communities in the Rocky Mountain West. In Jackson Hole, the gateway to Grand Teton National Park, at least 30 stores offer the product, according to the brand's website. Visitors to Yellowstone can find it in at least two gas stations in Gardiner, Montana, two gas stations in Cooke City, Montana, at least 12 locations in West Yellowstone, Montana, and even inside the park at Mammoth Hot Springs and Canyon Village.

Rob Neuner, founder and CEO, said that Boost Oxygen is "not a medical device and should not be used to treat any medical condition." "We always say that Oxygen simply 'helps,' it doesn't cure," Neuner said. But doctors disagree on whether canned oxygen helps in any meaningful way. Boost Oxygen provided several studies to SFGATE that had small sample sizes, weren't published in credible journals or came to the same conclusion about benefits only lasting for a few minutes.

Volume is a major problem. A "large" can of supplemental oxygen is 10 liters. "That is really pretty inconsequential for most activities," Moloney said. A one-second inhalation, which is what Boost Oxygen recommends doing three to five times, wouldn't be enough to significantly increase a patient's oxygen saturation.

Someone struggling with high-altitude pulmonary edema, a severe form of altitude sickness, would likely receive two hours of continuous oxygen flow in an emergency room or other medical setting, Moloney said. Getting your oxygen intake up meaningfully would require inhaling at least 2 liters per minute for a half hour to an hour to make a difference, Moloney said, and "that's a lot more than can be provided in those small commercial bottles that are sold in stores."

A puff of oxygen, or several, might temporarily make you feel better. "It does have short-term benefits that might help some people," said Benjamin Honigman, an emeritus professor in emergency medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz. "So I don't think we should completely dissuade people from utilizing it for its intended utilization and effectiveness."

Neuner touted good reviews from customers who used the cans at higher altitudes or during activity. "Another comment we receive from first responders in altitude is that when some people first experience shortness of breath, they can panic somewhat and start to hyperventilate, which can exacerbate their issue," he said. "Breathing Boost Oxygen can and does address this, and we've heard numerous success stories from this type of usage. Some can say this is psychosomatic, others could say it's physiological, but we are very proud to say that it's effective."

But those effects quickly diminish once you stop breathing in the supplemental oxygen. Honigman said there's no research showing improved athletic ability for longer-term physical efforts, like a day hike or peak summit in a national park. You'd have to be puffing oxygen the whole time, and carrying far more canisters than fit in a backpack to do so.

That's because bodies don't bank or store oxygen for future use. "As soon as you remove it, the normal human body will get back to its steady state of wherever they are in elevation within 5 to 10 minutes," Honigman said. "So the effectiveness of any extraneous oxygen that you breathe only lasts for a very short period of time."

Any longer-term perceived benefits are likely a placebo, Moloney said.

He also took issue with Boost Oxygen's suggested delivery method: taking a one second inhalation repeatedly. The goal for maximum oxygen uptake would be to take a deep breath and hold it, according to Moloney. "We would never administer that to patients in such a manner," he said. "It's not making the most use of the oxygen that you would inhale anyhow." Patients in a medical setting would breathe in oxygen through a tube in their nose.

Boost Oxygen was previously sued by the Ventura County district attorney for violating California's false advertising and unfair competition laws. "An investigation showed that many of Boost's claims were false or unsupported by evidence," a news release on the 2024 settlement read. The company was ordered to pay $413,000 in fines and stop making claims that its product can "treat or assist in the cure" of acute mountain sickness or altitude sickness, as well as help with symptoms stemming from allergies, COVID-19, the flu, smoke inhalation or air pollution.

Canned oxygen isn't the only oxygen being marketed to visitors of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. You can rent a week's worth of oxygen to use at home for $500, rent a day's supply for $100, or visit a "comfy Oxygen Bar" or hyperbaric oxygen chamber for an unspecified amount of money. Swanky hotels like the Four Seasons offer supplemental oxygen at $100 for 30 minutes.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates medical-grade oxygen and requires a doctor's prescription to obtain. But in most states - except Massachusetts, where oxygen bars are illegal - establishments promoting their services as recreational, not medical, are allowed to operate.

While Moloney isn't aware of any studies on oxygen bars' efficacy, he thinks, like canned oxygen, that they won't meaningfully decrease symptoms of acute mountain sickness. "We don't know that, and my sense is no, it's more amusement and recreational," he said.

Even if visitors think they're feeling the effects of altitude - like a headache, difficulty sleeping or shortness of breath - they most likely don't need a puff of canned oxygen or an appointment at an oxygen bar. Mild altitude sickness goes away within 24 to 36 hours, Honigman said. Moloney suggested taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen to suppress the headache. Stay hydrated. Check with your doctor if you have known lung or heart issues and are concerned about exertion at higher altitudes.

There aren't any known negative health side effects to a few extra puffs of oxygen, however, and experts acknowledge the appeal. "I don't think anyone's being hurt by this," Moloney said, "other than in the wallet."

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