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FDA to ban certain asthma inhalers
Starting next year, asthma inhalers sold over the counter in the United States will be banned.
Tue, Sep 27 2011 at 2:00 PM
 6

Related Topics:

Asthma and Allergies, Ozone
Primatene Mist

Screenshot: Primatene.com

Most folks probably don't even remember chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs — those nasty ozone-depleting chemicals that caused such a stir a few decades ago and were banned in the late '70s. Apparently, even since the ban, CFCs have been permitted in medical products when the FDA deems them essential. But that is about to end as the FDA recently announced that asthma inhalers that use CFCs will be banned at the start of the new year.
 
Right now, the inhaler under scrutiny is Primatene Mist, a popular asthma inhaler used by roughly 2 million patients each year. It's also the only over-the-counter inhaler currently available in the U.S. market without a prescription. Primatene Mist uses CFCs to propel medicine out of the inhaler so it can be drawn into the lungs. According to the FDA, other asthma-inhaler manufacturers now use a propellant called hydrofluoroalkane, which is less harmful to the environment.
 
Primatene Mist is marketed by Armstrong Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Amphastar. Two other prescription asthma inhalers that use CFCs are to be phased out by the end of 2013. They are Boehringer Ingelheim's Combivent Inhalation Aerosol and Graceway Pharmaceuticals' Maxair Autohaler.

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Comments: 6
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anonymous
Michael Sep 30 2011 at 1:02 AM
I have had asthma all my life and when I have had an attack or wheezing badly (very frequent in my childhood) Primatene Mist was the only thing that worked--and prob saved my life a few times. BTW when you go to the hospital with an asthma attack the first thing they do (after making you wait in pain for hours and then filling out tons of forms) is to give you an injection of epinephrine---the active ingredient in , you guessed it, Primatene. For the FDA to ban this is morally bankrupt. The savings
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to the environment will be minimal but there will be more than one death out of the 2 million users. Ridiculous!
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anonymous
Kevin Feb 14 2013 at 6:57 PM

I Second your entire comment.

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anonymous
logic Sep 27 2011 at 6:56 PM
What's real fun is trying to find any actual studies that prove that CFC's even cause thinning of the ozone. You know why mustard gas was so popular in WWI? It sinks to the ground. The only way Cl2 can get into the stratosphere, let alone CFC's, is when they are propelled by something like the most powerful volcanic blasts. Which has happened, by the way, and the ozone layer was fine. The experts suck. Please stop respecting them. Many are only called experts because they failed at getting a
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phd, and phd's often have a lot to gain by manipulating data.
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anonymous
Mike Sep 27 2011 at 3:53 PM

Great. 2 months ago when i was having a random asthma attack that i haven't had in 15 years my wife runs to the pharmacy and they recomend this to her. The only over the counter inhaler on the market since i don't have a prescription. This thing saved my life. I only needed it for a few days but this thing was there when i could barely breathe and couln't afford to go to the ER. This is retarded. NEW WORLD ORDER IS IN FULL AFFECT!!!! GOd Save us all.

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anonymous
Guest Sep 30 2011 at 1:47 AM

Go see a doc and a script for something to manage your asthma then

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anonymous
Guest Apr 18 2012 at 1:20 PM

And you'll pay for the Dr. visit, along with the cost of the prescription med. which is 3 times more than Primatene?
Don't comment on things that don't affect you.
Douchebags like you are a waste of air. Save our resources and just put a bag over your head & inhale.

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