Posted on 08/14/2008 5:21:35 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
A federal ban on ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), to conform to the Clean Air Act, is, ironically, affecting 22.9 million people in the United States who suffer from asthma, says Scientific American. Generic inhaled albuterol -- the most commonly prescribed short-acting asthma medication that requires CFCs to propel it into the lungs -- will no longer be legally sold after December 21, 2008.
As more patients see their prescriptions change and costs go up -- the reformulated brand-name alternatives can be three times as expensive, raising the cost to about $40 per inhaler -- many question why this ban must begin before generics become available. Some skeptics point to the billions of dollars to be gained by the three companies, GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough and Teva, holding the patents on the available HFA-albuterol inhalers.
However, the main public health issue may not be the drug's chemistry, but rather the side effects of the economics:
Multiple studies have shown that raising costs leads to poorer adherence to treatment; one study discovered that patients took 30 percent less antiasthma medication when their co-pay doubled. In the case of a chronic disease such as asthma, it is particularly difficult to get people to follow regular treatment plans. The choice to forgo medication could affect more than just the patient; for example, in a pregnant mother with untreated asthma, less oxygen is delivered to the fetus, which could lead to congenital problems and premature birth. Considering that the disease disproportionately strikes the poor, what seemed to be a good, responsible environmental decision might in the end exact an unexpected human toll, says Scientific American.
Source: Emily Harrison, "Change in the Air: Banning CFC-driven inhalers could levy a toll on asthma sufferers," Scientific American, August 2008.
For abstract:
http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID_CHAR=08BE4E66-3048-8A5E-1056EEFC6FDC40AA
For more on Health Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=16
Asthma is a serious problem. However it is very over diagnosed. Plus doctors never seem to look at environmental causes. At least in my experience.
Another stinking hoax.
This is just as stupid as the Euros banning the tiny amount of lead in solder, which leads to circuit boards inferior in many ways we know and probably many more that we don’t, while not banning automotive batteries that hold thousands of times as much lead. This is what happens when you let idiots run the place and feel obliged to actually do what they say.
Banning CFC’s in inhalers? Are you kidding me? Total BS!
Petition to save CFC inhalers (New ozone-friendly asthma medications don't work): http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023839/posts
You know, I've heard that about Lyme too, and that you didn't need to worry outside of New England and MI or WI. And then, they found that 50% of the folks in Papua, New Guinea are seropositive for borrelia. http://tinyurl.com/dvgrs
Asthma can be associated with Lyme, and my son among others has had his asthma go away when the Lyme was treated.
This has to be typical liberal thinking. We will save the planet even if a few asthmatics have to die? I mean how much CFC’s can there be in one of those little inhalers?
My wife suffers from Asthma and it took several differnt kinds to find one that would work for her and the cost went up considerably from the albuterol that worked just fine.
Also, price / compliance ratios don't really mean much on a rescue inhaler. If you need it, you use it or not breathe - price isn't part of the "should I puff now" decision loop. Other than perhaps not having an inhaler when its need is critical.
Also, the force of the new propellant is way less than the current CFC propellant. A fairly significant data point when the mission is to get the drug as far as possible down the constricted airway. But hey, we're saving the planet, right? Killing off a few asthmatics is a nice way to eliminate their carbon AND CFC footprint.
May all the greenies rot in hell.
All the CFCs ever produced by man are not equal to the chlorine and fluorine output of a single volcano. Just like global warming, this is another liberal “belief” item to give people something to occupy their activities with in the quest for global socialism. All it has done is drive up the cost of the things we need for no good reason.
The CFC ban may have cost the lives of the Shuttle astronauts. Initially the foam insulation on the main shuttle fuel tank was made using CFCs. When a new process using CO2 was initiated, the foam had a greater propensity to separate from the tank.
ping
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