Should asthma inhalers be removed from the market because of environmental concerns?

Question

They started removing some inhalers a few years ago because of environmental concerns. By 2013 all inhalers will be replaced with ProAir HFA inhalers. These inhalers normally last a week if you are lucky, but they are supposed to last a month. They also fail to deliver medicine as effectively. You just can not count on them like you can the ones being taken off the market. I would hate to see someone have a serious attack with one of these only to have no medicine come out, as expected.

Now they are removing the only over-the-counter asthma inhaler sold in the United States. It will be banned from store shelves because of environmental concerns. Replacement medications will cost more, the U.S. Food and Drug administration acknowledged.

The FDA announced on Wednesday that Primatene Mist (epinephrine) will be discontinued by the end of the year, as part of an international agreement to phase out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances.

Primatene Mist, approved by the FDA for the temporary relief of occasional symptoms of mild asthma, uses chlorofluorocarbons as a propellant. I guess that's bad stuff for the ozone.

What do you think about this?

Answer 1

Isn't it starting to add up? The more people dependent on Government, the stronger the attraction to select tyranny. Make drugs so expensive people will need government help to stay alive, Guess what will happen. People will demand government help to stay alive. It's not a mystery any more. Obama and his evil minions don't want to make America stronger. They wish to weaken it. Albuterol inhalers were one of the most inexpensive medications. The price increased from $5.50 to over $22 per inhaler after EPA stuck it's filthy fingers into the pharmaceutical business.



The worst abuser of power and the most consistent destroyer of individual property rights is the EPA. However the democrat congress and our executive branch has been trampling on the constitution and our principles of limited government since FDR.



New regulations and government restrictions have been growing in a infinite number of government pitri dishes. Any organism who's growth is left to go unchecked will eventually die in it's own poisons. So it is with bureaucracies.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

Asthma is an allergy and is triggered by something. The best non medication treatment for asthma is learning your triggers and avoiding them. Common triggers are smoke, dust, mold, mildew, plants, dust mites, pets and grass/weeds.



If you can not figure our your triggers, you may need to see an allergist and have allergy screening done. This may point out your triggers.



The National Asthma Prevention Program and the Expert Panel of Diagnosis and Management of Asthma both agree if you have to use a prescription inhaler such as albuterol more then two time per week, your asthma is NOT in control and you will need a prescription controller medication.



Controller medications are steroids (Asthmacort Asthmanex, Flovent, Pulmocort), Leukotriene modifier (Singulair, Aculade, Zyflo) or mast cell stabilizers (Cromolyn sodium, Intal, Tilade).



You may want to talk to your doctor about several strong controller medications and maybe Xolair shots.



If you want a proven, all-natural way to cure your asthma, without having to pay for useless medications with harmful side-effects, then this is the most important page you'll ever read.

Answer 4

You have apparently not thought about this much, except for your original outrage:

- the choice of inert propellant does not stop a company from producing a product. There are more expensive fluorocarbons that will do the job, but they don't think they can charge you more for...

- a drug that is available in generic / private branded form, which all their advertisements help to sell. Since they are on the shelf right next to their products, and commonly look very similar.



They are presenting this in such a way as to confuse you at the shell game they are playing. Their costs are going up, and you will pay more. They get to make the government the fall guy.



Please note that the Antarctic ozone hole, that started this foofaraw, is still near record size and depth. And the Arctic ozone hole hit a new record this year. So the ban on CFCs needs to be adhered to until we are on the down side of the slope. Please.

Answer 5

Anyone who has asthma knows how prices have quadrupled, and why. This has absolutely NOTHING to do with environmental concerns and everything to do with guaranteed profits for the select companies that manufacture the "green" kind. And patients have to pay whatever they ask, because the kind we've been using all our lives are now no longer available and there's no competition allowed.



More government cronyism. I want my f**king albuterol back, and I DON'T want to have to pay a health insurance company and a doctor to get a prescription for it. I've had asthma symptoms my whole life, and how dare you tell me I can't manage it by myself, Joe? Speak for yourself, pal. I want to walk into a store and buy what I need. Period.



And one more thing, all this does is create a black market for albuterol. I have actually purchased it from drug dealers in the past. Wish I still could. I guess it ran out.



Now I don't have frequent problems, but when I do, I have no rescue inhaler. I have to use natural remedies and relaxation techniques if I want to breathe. There's no goddamn way I'm doing business with these gangsters. I'd rather choke.

Answer 6

Only some are being banned because of the propellant they were using. There are many others still on the market and the ones banned will be back once they reformulate. Truthfully, I am surprised that the rest of them hadn't changed already. It shouldn't be that hard since the propellant should be inert. Even if they could not find a replacement propellant, they could have used a pump. z

Answer 7

All of the inhalers with Chlorofluorocarbons were phased out by December 31st, 2008.



There are several exe lent reasons to remove ephedrine inhalers from the market.

First they do not require a prescription and asthma is NOT a condition that should be managed by yourself. Ephedrine is a bronchodilator. The more you use these inhalers the greater is your chance of dying from them.

A patient overusing one of these needs to be on a steroid inhaler to reduce the inflammation in their bronchi.

Ephedrine can also be easily converted to methamphetamine.

Ephedrine is more likely that other asthma drugs to cause heart attacks.



Ephedrine is not a very specific drug and is much more likely than drugs like albuterol to cause high blood pressure, increased heart rate and other unwanted side effects.



Primatene mist should have been off the market a couple of decades ago.

Answer 8

According to the EPA, chlorofluorocarbons at ground-level CANNOT reach the upper atmosphere* to do the ozone layer any harm. According to the EPA, they realized that AFTER propagating the regulations based on the presumption that they DO. Nonetheless, the EPA continues to enforce policy based on what the EPA said the EPA KNOWS is false.

According to literally 100% of elected Democrats, we NEED for the EPA to do this.



*CFCs are MUCH denser that atmospheric air so no scientifically literate person EVER imagined significant amounts could FLOAT. Is your rescue inhaler useless? Thank ANY Democrat.

Answer 9

F*ck no if the new inhalers are faulty, they should keep the old ones, or design new ones that work well, last as long as the originals, and are environmentally friendly.

Answer 10

I had asthma as a kid, and I used inhalers, they got me breathing, but had my heart racing too.

If its not good for the environment, the odds are they aren't that great to have sucked into your lungs either, particularly in concentrated amounts, after all, we all breathe air with auto emissions, but none of us would want to suck up to a tailpipe.

I think if the money is there they will find a new propellant. That's what happens.

Answer 11

I question how much damage is being done to the environment that would prevent people from getting a medicine that helps them.

Answer 12

Liberals ALWAYS put animals and the environment before people.



How many more people have to die in order to support liberals' meaningless feel good policies.



Sickening...

Answer 13

Sounds like bullshit to me . More government cronyism .

Answer 14

about time the gov took action.

Answer 15

I guess the EPA wants you to die.