This is far from the "cells" and "free radicals" Pakistan is most famous for, the ones that carry guns, hate America and profess loyalty to Osama bin Laden.

But in a country with no public consumption of alcohol and in a city -- Lahore -- choking from pollution, The Oxygen Bar may offer just the high the elite need when they get together to socialize.

With its velvety sofas and soft lighting, Pakistan's first bar looks and feels like it could be in any western city, with prices to match.

But instead of glasses of wine or pints of creamy beer, the counter is lined with tubes that dispense a tipple more befitting a good Muslim country: pure oxygen.
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For £4.50 a hit, well-heeled Pakistanis insert a neon cannula up their nostrils, hit the button and stretch back for a 10-minute oxygen rush, in aromas ranging from cinnamon to spearmint.

"It's like a natural high," said Irfan Khan, 31, a biomedical engineer turned lounge-lizard entrepreneur. "You feel refreshed because your cell reactions are faster, and the free radicals are taken care of."

The Guardian, Special Report Pakistan, Feb 1 2005