Over-The-Counter Asthsma Inhalers : off the shelves?

ABC News ^ | 01-24-06 | DR. MARK WERNICK

[snowstorm12]

I wonder if the primatene pills will also be banned? I’ve tried those, but those don’t work at all. Primatene is a great product and I hope it doesn’t go away because then I will need to use the primatene pills and those don’t even work or maybe get it from another country through the internet.

[A CA Guy]

That makes sense.
People don’t get high that I know of from these prescription inhalers, so I think if they came up with a 25% strength level version for over the counter it would be a good thing.

[pepperdog]

They’ve killed millions already with the banning of DDT, matters not a wit to them!

[NRA2BFree]

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee voted 11-7 today to recommend that certain over-the-counter asthma inhalers, such as Primatene Mist, be taken off the market over concerns that they contain chlorofluorocarbons that could harm the environment.

Great idea! Save the environment. It's better to let people die from an asthma attack! < / sarcasm > Has the whole world gone mad, or is this confined to America?

[Darnright]

>I’d rather see the more effective inhalers go over the counter.<

I’d love to see that happen. Frankly, if they take Primatene off the market, they’re going to have to make something available to take its place, or a lot of people may die unnecessarily

[Fairview]

Would you rather that this thread be devoted to pointless hand-wringing about the fact that Primatene is being taken off the market, or would you rather hear that there are other drugs you can take? I admit that just writing posts about how awful everything is would be more emotionally satisfying but I’d rather suggest to people that if they lack Primatene they can get other drugs instead—drugs that won’t make their problems worse.

If one drug your doctor prescribes doesn’t work for you as well as Primatene does, you may need to try others. Better that than going without any medication at all and dying, eh?

And what makes you think that I don’t know what it’s like to have asthma? My asthma has been so severe at times that it nearly cost me my life.

I am not in charge of establishing the cost of drugs, so there’s very little point in being upset with me. I am not the person who’s interfering with your ability to obtain Primatene. If you think your life isn’t worth the cost of a doctor’s visit and a prescription, fine. Mine is. My kids’ lives are, too. I would give up anything, sacrifice anything, to get my children the meds they need. If you want something badly enough you can usually contrive a way to get it. See my post to amchugh, above.

[amchugh]

Thanks for the great info. I’ll definitely mention some of this to one of my friends who has asthma and COPD, and limited resources (she was widowed, and has 8 kids). I appreciate that you’ve thought through all the angles on this.

[dangerfield]

btw, I always resented Primatines' monopoly on inhalers. They clog easily, it's difficult to tell how much you have left,etc. So now it appears they are caught unprepared for these new regulations, and on their website dishonestly blame a third party manufacturer. Is there another OTC brand of inhaler? Not that I've seen in ten years.

I guess some asthmatics saw this coming and did as I would have done: stocked up.

I will use Flovent and albuterol, but Primatine is to my perception the ultimate backup. The guarentee that my lungs will clear. Without that, suddenly this disease of mine, I've taken for granted since childhood, makes me feel unprotected. I'm talking plain fear and so are some of these other posters. The immediate threat isn't from primatine, it's my lungs and whatever of a million possible allergies might close them shut. It may be a old fashioned and sometimes dangerous drug but it's a lifesaving remedy, dammit.

[Fairview]

What state does your widowed friend live in? Many states now have a free health-care plan for children. Many large hospital systems also have their own insurance program for financially strapped families, with a cost of a few dollars a month and a copay of $2 or $5 per visit. Your friend should not have to pay retail for health care for eight kids.

[freemike]

I think there are a few things at play here. There is this push for more control over what people are doing with themselves. Can’t keep track of people when they are buying things off the shelves. And as for dangers to the patient,, those other inhalers are filled with risks. Just read the warnings and side effects. Restricting over the counter meds fits with all the other things libs do. Just look at any communist countries. They don’t have access to over the counter meds as we do. Everything is restricted. Cold medicines have begun to be restricted. I read on this site yesterday that some lib was banning baking soda in his city. Now this. It would be interesting to see if more medications we are all used begin to be restricted.

[amchugh]

I appreciate that, and probably should not have made some of my earlier comments. However, I will state that medical policy, whether expressed by doctors, insurance companies, or administrators often focuses on treatments which are difficult for those with few resources to comply with. The most successful method for restricting Primatine may be to make the most effective alternative treatment over the counter, or at least more accessible.

Despite what I've said earlier, I'm not hostile to doctors, or uncomprehending of how difficult a job it is. I think the medical profession in this country is a good thing (less sure about the insurance situation). I look at the problems Mexico is having with antibiotic abuse and asthma treatment and shudder.

[amchugh]

Well, there is a pretty direct link between CFCs and ozone depletion, and another direct link between ozone depletion and skin cancer deaths in Australia. However, I agree that medication delivery should be excepted from the regulation.

I think the environmental thing might be just an excuse by doctors who dislike primatene's side effects and want to ban it without having to fight an industry lawsuit on the relative merits or lack thereof of primatene. If that is the case, I cant really blame them.

[Dick Vomer]

Primatene mist is bad stuff... it's adrenalin that acts on both the lungs and blood vessels as well as the cardiac conduction system.

the therapeutic window is very narrow and if used to frequently can lead to cardiac arrhythmia and death....

the new inhalers are much safer....... the adrenalin used by the doctors in the ER is given with the patient on monitors and keeping and eye on the blood pressure in order to help the lungs but not kill the heart.

[cajungirl]

Start with going to a real live doc and get albuterol and flovent. There are sane people on this thread, listen to them.

[BuffaloJack]

This is BS!
The stupid ozone hole was discovered in the 70s; coincidentally about the same time as the means to detect it was developed. As soon as the theorists came up with the alleged culprit (CFCs), the environmentalists embarked on a crusade to eliminate CFCs. In the 30+ years since the discovery of the ozone hole, they have never been able to reproduce in a lab, the chemical equations that they wrote down on paper to explain the ozone depletion reaction. If they can’t do it in a lab, why do they think that mother nature has just the right conditions in the upper atmosphere? This ozone hole BS is just another branch of the Great Global Warming Hoax. By eliminating CFCs, our air conditioners and refrigerators are more expensive and less efficient and the cheap propellants used for everything from spray paint to medical inhalers are banned.
Al FGore, may you rot in Hell.

[MrBambaLaMamba]

The Hildabeast will save you. Socialized healthcare is the answer!

[pepperdog]

I think you see what is happening in a clear light. Strange that a medication that has been on the market for over 40 years is suddenly a sure ticket to the graveyard isn’t it? Some are all to ready to let the government make every decision for them in the totally erroneous belief that they will be safe from every possible hazard. I suppose they’ll jump on the baking soda wagon too.

[dangerfield]

"There are sane people on this thread, listen to them."

I know but the angry posters are much more satisfying to read. Albuterol, flovent, ...and an OTC emergency adrenaline puff , is what I want. My asthma is stable, isn't that what we mean by "effective"? Now it will not be stable, as they experiment to see what might be better for me.

[mikey75]

Please consider signing the petition below to voice concerns over the FDA banning asthma medication containing CFC’s.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/300594068?ltl=1175363160

[racendirt]

I consider myself sane and have gone to doctors. I’ve used primitine for 35 years and it works better than albuterol and everything else the doctor threw at me. One in four people in this country have healthcare and asthma is on the rise....especially in small children. I don’t think taking away the only medication they can afford is the answer. Not everyone lives near a major city to go to free clinics. I would wish the FDA would have a heart. Something tells me our inhalers are not the major culprits concerning the ozone.