OTC inhalers to be phased out to protect ozone layer

AP ^ | 9/22/2011 | MATTHEW PERRONE

[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.

[RJS1950]

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.

[Errant]

I only use this to wash my HD or 172RG.

[TigersEye]

If it saves just one tree frog it will be worth all the asthma related deaths.
Beat it, kid!, you were wasting oxygen anyway. /s

[Vendome]

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.....

[engrpat]

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.

[Bobalu]

http://www.primatene.com/doc/PressRelease07-27-2011.pdf

[calex59]

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.

[Graybeard58]

Also include the price of an office call now to get a scrip.

[boop]

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.

[Cobra64]

[VTenigma]

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.

[SueRae]

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...

[steelyourfaith]

As if one Dark Ages of superstition wasn't enough for humanity.

Thanx for the ping Army Air Corps !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[boop]

As a doctor I HATE these regs put out by the EPA. Albuterol is a perfectly fine drug that did what it was supposed to do, help patients with an acute asthma attack or COPD. Now I have to specifically write for the politically correct version. Does anyone seriously think that an asthmatic is causing serious harm to "mother earth" by using a perfectly safe medicine?

Even if people have to die, it's a small price to pay for making the eco-fascists feel good about themselves.

[Hot Tabasco]

Anyone seen any proof that the reduction in release of CFC’s has changed the ‘ozone holes’

Has anyone even heard of the Ozone holes in the past 5 to 10 years?

[FreedomPoster]

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.

[bamahead]

Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!

[justa-hairyape]

We now know the CFC ban was based upon very bad science. They assumed the UV output from the sun was a constant. We now know that it varies up to 6 % during the solar cycle. And during the last minimum we just left, it was much lower then the previous minimum. Less UV means less ozone creation. So the holes should be very big and they are even though we have banned CFC’s. Look we are being ruled by cronies. Almost everything out of DC is a flat out lie utilized to raise money for the cronies. We will never see truth out of DC again. They will never admit the CFC ban was wrong, just as they will never admit that AGW was wrong.

[Fresh Wind]

Simple Green smells simply awful.

[Rebelbase]

“Also include the price of an office call now to get a scrip.”

Gotta force those people into obamacare.