Certain asthma inhalers will be banned as of December 31 - is yours one of them?
Over the past few years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been banning asthma inhalers that contain chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), and, according to The Dallas Morning News, the federal agency will be phasing out the two final devices that include this organic compound by December 31.
The source reports that CFCs are among a number of greenhouses gasses that contribute to global warming. As such, an international treaty was formed in 1988 to initiate the end of products containing certain substances that have been depleting the ozone layer.
"CFCs were used as propellants to move the drug out of inhalers so that patients can inhale the medicine," Dr. Badrul Chowdhury, director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Rheumatology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, told the source. "For more than two decades, the FDA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have collaborated to phase-out CFCs in inhalers — a process that included input from the public, advisory committees, manufacturers and stakeholders."
So, what does this mean for the millions of people in the United States who suffer from asthma? The good news is that there are plenty of prescription inhalers available that are effective at treating chronic respiratory diseases. Individuals who are using Combivent Inhalation Aerosol or Maxair Autohaler — the two remaining CFCs products that will be banned by the end of the year — are encouraged to see a specialist about different treatment options.
There are additional steps that asthma sufferers can take to improve their quality of life, such as investing in residential air purifiers that make it easier for them to breathe.