Posted on 09/22/2011 11:41:44 AM PDT by Mount Athos
Asthma patients who rely on over-the-counter inhalers will need to switch to prescription-only alternatives as part of the federal government's latest attempt to protect the Earth's atmosphere.
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma will need to switch by Dec. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.
The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.
But the switch to a greener inhaler will cost consumers more. Epinephrine inhalers are available via online retailers for around $20, whereas the alternatives, which contain the drug albuterol, range from $30 to $60.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Ping.
Ozone Hole was a scam.
This is the proof.
The payoff....................
I’d rather suck up CFC’s than Albuterol.
And WHO owns the company that will be making the new PRESCRIPTION ONLY inhalers? They wouldn’t happen to be a DNC donor also, would they?
The switch to greener ANYTHING always costs the consumers more. That's the whole point of the environmental con game, seems to me.
ping
Costs more green to go green.
I thought solar was the future?!?!
Neil Boortz will go postal over this.
He was on an inhaler as a kid. Several times in the past the govt has tried to do this, and Boortz just lost it. He will use his show as a platform to fight this tooth and nail.
“The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun. “
Anyone seen any proof that the reduction in release of CFC’s has changed the ‘ozone holes’ above the poles (which are there for a reason), or increased the amount of ozone in the atmosphere?
I don’t think the article is correct. It’s not epinephrine versus albuterol but CFC versus non CFC inhalers.
Used to be able to buy the albuterol inhalers that contained the CFC’s for about $4.00. The new non-CFC albuterol inhalers are almost 10 times as much.
Total scam.
crap like this is what causes drug shortages.......
This really irks me. I cannot stand the prescription versions. You can’t tell if you’ve inhaled anything so you wind up doing multiple puffs which causes it to run out before the prescription can be renewed.
I tried them two years ago and after a few months switched back to the OTC version (Primatene). Prescription albuterol costs two to three times as much. It is covered by insurance but not paid for until you have satisfied your deductible. So it takes 6 or 8 months before you are not out of pocket. And at the end of the year it all starts over.
So the government, claiming to be acting in my best interest is making it harder to breathe. Big government is suffocating. Literally.
I smell a new entitlement program.
Bullsh!t ... If there are 310,000,000 people living in America, what percentage have asthma? Five percent? Less? Of those, how many use over-the-counter inhalers? Ten or twenty percent? How much damaging material can be inside such small containers?
This is big brother stepping harder on our collective neck. The only fix to all this is to reduce the size of the Federal Dragon to something that can be lived with! If not, the dragon will continue seize its prey.
Environmentalist Motto: “Saving The Sky, One Dead Body At A Time”
Has anyone found a “green” product that is superior or even equivalent to the evil non-green product? I can’t think of one example. In fact, I just picked up some TSP so that my “green” dishwasher soap will actually clean my dishes instead of leaving them cloudy, dirty and greasy.
I’m hating my government more and more every day!
Heh, I tried some of the “green” dishwasher detergent and I ended up throwing half of the bottle away. Worthless crap left everything including the dishwasher cloudy, scum coated, and half clean.
CFC’s are 7 times heavier than air. In a room CFC will drop to the ground.
Honestly, how much does CFC delivered asthma relief affect the atmosphere?
Sigh.....
The EPA, several years ago changed the propellent for Albuterol and ran the cost of a inhaler through the roof. The cost under Part D is well over $100 but WalMart has a generic but it cost $60. Before the government got involved I was paying under $15 per inhaler. Sure wish the government wouldn’t try to help. Oh, one more thing, the new ones aren’t as good as the old cheap ones.
http://www.primatene.com/doc/PressRelease07-27-2011.pdf
There is ad running on the Hulu web site that asks for donations to africa for mosquito netting to help combat malaria. Why don’t they just lift the ban on DDT? Left wingers are all as crazy as a sh** house mouse.
Also include the price of an office call now to get a scrip.
Yes, imagine how many black people would be alive today if DDT weren’t banned. But that gets back to the inherent racism of the left.
I like my epi inhaler, I don’t want to use albuterol, this really sucks, I guess the greenies will get their wish and kill me off after all, just one more denier no longer wasting their precious air.
Idiots.
Is it the FDA or the EPA? And they wonder why drugmakers are leaving, too? If they change the formulation, even the accelrant, how much $$$$ do they have to spend to get it back through the FDA’s labyrinthian (and crooked)approval cycle???
Easier to just discontinue the product...
Thanx for the ping Army Air Corps !
Even if people have to die, it's a small price to pay for making the eco-fascists feel good about themselves.
Has anyone even heard of the Ozone holes in the past 5 to 10 years?
There are a number of people out there who are convinced that the whole thing was a scam because the patents were running out on the common CFC refrigerants. R-11, R-12, R-22, etc.
I think backhoe is one of them.
I have my doubts about the matter as well.
We certainly shot ourselves in the foot on air conditioning energy efficiency on the changeover.
Simple Green smells simply awful.
“Also include the price of an office call now to get a scrip.”
Gotta force those people into obamacare.
Look at Primatene’s link:
http://www.primatene.com/doc/PressRelease07-27-2011.pdf
They say buy enough to last you for the period of time between when the CFC product is taken off the market and the non-CFC hits the shelves.
You’ll be ok, you just need to buy a few inhalers in the near future.
I used to think that as well, but the patents had already run out decades before......
Dunno- mine was made by Boehringer Ingolheim, a German manufacturer
I remember Meathead lamenting on All in the Family 40 years ago that the Ozone layer would be gone in 20 years if something wasn’t done about it. Meathead.
“Also include the price of an office call now to get a scrip.”
You have GOT to be kidding.
Unless you can call your doctor and get him to call in a prescription, you will have to go see him. If he has never treated you for asthma, he would require a visit before writing one for you.
Prescription only meds cost a lot more than over the counter, unless you have drug insurance.
Save the Earth, sacrifice the asthmatics.
Where have I heard this before? Oh yeah:
“You have to Break a Few Eggs to make an Omelet”- V I Lenin
Is yours one of the new Prescription only inhalers using Albuterol?
I’d rather suck in the CFCs as well. I don’t like my HFA-powered inhaler. It’s there and it works when I need it, and I certainly like the > 200 metered inhalations, but I’d prefer a better propellant.
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