In an emergency OTC inhalers can save an asthmatic's life: EPA is going to ban it.

[Mimosa]

I have personally seen 2 instances in which an asthmatic person's life was saved by use of a drugstore inhaler.


EPA regulations will ban OTC inhalers in favour of Rx more expensive inhalers requiring visits to MD which some of us cannot afford any more. I believe this kind of legislation is more pandering to pharma corps than concern about the environment.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44627081/ns/today-today_health/t/otc-inhalers-be-phased-out-protect-ozone-layer/#

If you can please contact your Congress reps. People will die because of this new regulation. I do not believe the occasional use of OTC inhalers will destroy the biosphere. :( I do know people who run out of their $35 inhalers with albuterol (who don't have money for refills) and occasionally pick up a primatene. I personally have seen a person's life saved by use of a primatene !

[CurtEastPoint]

1. It would seem they could change the stuff used to propel it out, as that

is the problem as seen by EPA.

[johnd83]

29. Not that simple

Once a drug is approved by the FDA, the ingredients cannot be changed. Changing the propellant will require re-approval, and result in a patented drug which is far more expensive. I have no idea why the EPA is going after asthma inhalers. They use such a small amount of the CFC that is in question.

[msanthrope]

41. They wouldn't pass re-approval, and they know it.

Primatene is snake oil.

[TheWraith]

71. That's a little extreme, isn't it?

I used one of these a few times last year when I had a nasty cough from a lung infection. It always helped clear my lungs out fast, and I was breathing better afterwards. Hard to argue that it doesn't really work.

[juajen]

75. That's a freakin' lie. It has saved my life and that of my husband

many times over the past 50 years. We have never had a problem with this product and it is necessary that we and others have this medication when we need it.

[PeaceNikki]

77. They why have they not gotten a new product to market with a different propellant?

They've had since 2006 when these discussions started and at least since 2008 when the law was signed.

[jmowreader]

63. Umm...you might want to look at this...

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

A new CFC-free Primatene Mist is in development, and will be available as soon as the FDA approves it...which leads to the obvious question: what took them so damn long to start work on the new and different version?

[johnd83]

65. Do they need to go through clinical trials?

That is a long and expensive process. I don't know what chemistry changes require clinical trials, but generic drugs cannot have any chemical differences at all, not even in the inactive ingredients.

[jmowreader]

68. No idea...

Hasn't the proposed rule been public for three years? That's what I'm talking about: if they've known for three years that they need to reformulate Primatene to change the propellant, why didn't they get started on it before now?

[quakerboy]

60. They already did that with the Prescription version

And it seems to me, anecdotally that the new formulation actually does not work as well.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. How can they possibly justify this outrage?

Probably on the grounds that you need to see a doctor before getting something like this...

Oh, come on!

:eyes:

[jberryhill]

8. Because you are assuming it to be correct

It is justified on the basis that CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons) are banned in everything else.

Not all OTC inhalers use them.

The rulemaking on this started in 2006, the regulation was finalized in 2008, and all packages of the single remaining CFC-using epinephrine inhaler has had this on the label since late 2008.

But, a black man is president, and we're all going to die.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

59. "But, a black man is president, and we're all going to die"

That pretty much says it all right there (about all of the lunacy we've witnessed in this country since November 2008)! :eyes:

[msanthrope]

11. Why are you defending 'Big Pharma?' The makers of Primatene, the only

product in question, refuse to change to another delivery system.

Why?

And why does this corporation deserve your protection?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. I am not defending big pharma.

I am outraged that these OTC drugs might be banned.

You have misinterpreted what I said.

Or perhaps I didn't say it clearly enough.

[msanthrope]

31. Yes. You are defending a pharma company who had 3 years to wean off the CFCs

and chose not to. FYI--the product they make doesn't help asthma.

[PeaceNikki]

3. The GOP is blaming Obama

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201109230025

[Mimosa]

4. No matter who it is, CFCs have been phased out of unnecessary products like hairsprays...

But asthmatics can DIE within minutes without access to inhalers. And OTC inhalers do work.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Are CFCs the only propellent possible or available for such

products?

[jberryhill]

12. No

[PeaceNikki]

6. The discussion in the comments on the Media Matters link are interesting.

There's discussion about the manufacturer of Primatine having time to develop product different propellant and then discussion that wasn't even the primary reason it is being pulled.

From a news story back in 2006.

Wyeth, which is now working jointly with Armstrong, urged the F.D.A. to keep Primatene on the market until an alternative is ready, which it estimated would be around 2011.

But some of the physicians on the F.D.A. advisory committee had little sympathy. They said that despite Primatene's long history of use, there was little evidence of the drug's safety and effectiveness. Epinephrine is a synthetic version of the human hormone adrenaline.

These doctors said Primatene could even harm patients because of side effects or because users might forgo better treatments. Removing it from the market, they said, could be an opportunity to switch asthma patients to better medications.

"It is clearly not optimum therapy and I think suboptimal therapy is a disservice to our patients," said Dr. Mark L. Brantly, a pulmonary physician at the University of Florida

Unlike the common cold, asthma is a disease that needs specialized care, Ferdman said.

"Some diseases can be treated without the help of a doctor," he said. Asthma is not one of these."

I guess I am on the fence about this one, but I am not an asthma patient. I am curious as to why an alternative is still not ready. :shrug:

[Yo_Mama]

19. They don't work as well

So they refused to change the OTC inhaler.

The FDA is not living in the real world in which for a lot of uninsured/underinsured people the effective cost of that $60-70 prescribed inhaler is $60 + $60 (min doc visit, might be $75 to $90) or $120. Also, the new versions don't work as well.

I have allergic asthma. I am mildly allergic to a bunch of things. Primatene now works better for me than the prescribed inhalers. I do not need to be on constant medication. I only need rescue coverage for inhalers, on average once every two years. I use 1/2 a Primatene tablet (for which I now have to sign at a pharmacy) for low-grade exposures (mold, soy in foods, pollen) that are beginning the allergic cycle of reaction and I used to carry around a Primatene inhaler for an emergency situation (mostly perfumes - I am acutely allergic to a few perfumes, or something them. I nearly died when I was 29 in a restroom at work when someone sprayed some perfume on herself).

So two years ago when it became hard to find the old inhalers I got a prescription from my doctor for the most common inhaler and when I had to use it, I found it didn't even work. I was mad as heck. I will probably have to get an Epi-pen to substitute.

My opinion is that emergency room visits for asthma are going to rise. It isn't always a chronic problem that needs chronic care. Like an Epi-pen, a lot of people have just the need for emergency rescue meds, and the new versions are crappy. Now to get effective chronic relief you have to take steroids.

[msanthrope]

40. Glaxo makes a 9 buck inhaler. Ventolin. 60 shots. Please do not use

a Beta 1 agonist for an allergy attack.

If you do not know what that is, then please, see a doctor to explain it.

[Yo_Mama]

50. Believe me, I've discussed this with my doctor

In detail.

I have an anaphylactic reaction to certain allergens. I don't bitch, because hey, it could be peanuts. Fortunately they are rare, but it's less than 2 minutes from contact to collapse if I ever inhale them.

The Epi-pen was his idea! And he made my husband get one because he developed allergies after one medication he was given. My husband has a bad heart, and he sat him down and gave him a long talk about when and if and why. When your airway closes up, you're a goner.

[juajen]

78. Thank you! I thought I remembered that without the accelerant

it was not as effective. I remember buying all of the primatene available in several drugstores fearing the alternative. I cannot afford any more co-pays. I'm already dipping heavily into grocery money.

[SidDithers]

22. From this thread, not only the GOP...nt

Sid

[The Traveler]

7. This was agreed to long ago

as part of the process of phasing out CFC's on a world wide basis.

As I recall,each CFC molecule will on average "unzip" 100,000 ozone molecules before it breaks down into something harmless ... this stuff is massively destructive.

I myself refuse to believe the drug industry didn't have the capability to deal with the propellant issue and maintain an OTC product. Don't blame the EPA for this one. The FDA, maybe, for not leaning on the drug industry to provide an environmentally safe OTC product.

[PeaceNikki]

10. It appears that the FDA aren't big fans of OTC asthma treatment.

From a news story back in 2006.

Wyeth, which is now working jointly with Armstrong, urged the F.D.A. to keep Primatene on the market until an alternative is ready, which it estimated would be around 2011.

But some of the physicians on the F.D.A. advisory committee had little sympathy. They said that despite Primatene's long history of use, there was little evidence of the drug's safety and effectiveness. Epinephrine is a synthetic version of the human hormone adrenaline.

These doctors said Primatene could even harm patients because of side effects or because users might forgo better treatments. Removing it from the market, they said, could be an opportunity to switch asthma patients to better medications.

"It is clearly not optimum therapy and I think suboptimal therapy is a disservice to our patients," said Dr. Mark L. Brantly, a pulmonary physician at the University of Florida

Unlike the common cold, asthma is a disease that needs specialized care, Ferdman said.

"Some diseases can be treated without the help of a doctor," he said. Asthma is not one of these."

[msanthrope]

9. Primatene can change its delivery system. Why are you defending this corporation?

Besides, Primatene doesn't work.

[virgogal]

14. I hope you mean that Primatene doesn't work for YOU. Some

people find it very affective though.

[Mimosa]

23. Primatene definitely works for an allergy caused asthma attack

Allergic to cat hair, dander, dust? It definitely works. I know that for a fact.

[msanthrope]

36. Why would you take a Beta 1 agonist for an allergy attack?

If you can't answer that question, it proves you really should not be treating anyone's asthma with OTC crap.

[msanthrope]

34. Primatene is one of the most dangerous OTC you can buy...

it's a beta 1 inhibitor also, not just a beta 2.

If you don't know what that means, then trust me, you should NOT be treating your asthma OTC.

[catrose]

13. A 25-year-old friend died

Because she hadn't refilled her prescription for an inhaler. She had an asthma attack, went into a coma, and died days later. OK, so she couldn't get to the drugstore to pick up an OTC inhaler either, but I'd still hope that inhalers could be more, not less available.

RIP, Jenna.

[booley]

16. This article seems more relevant then ever right now

From Mother Jones..

PHARMA'S NEXT BIG PROBLEM The drug companies claimed to have spent more than $1 billion on this transition, so they weren't happy when scientists raised concerns about hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the group of gases used in the new inhalers. These propellants don't harm the ozone layer, but they are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. In light of this, several researchers and one generic drug company argued that phasing out the old CFC-based inhalers didn't make environmental sense—especially given the higher prices asthma patients would have to pay for their medicine.

THE NEXT BRILLIANT SOLUTION But not to worry: The pharma consortium transformed from primarily an R&D outfit searching for substitutes for CFC-based inhalers into a lobbying group intent on eliminating the old inhalers. It set up shop in the K Street offices of Drinker Biddle, a major DC law firm. Between 2005 and 2010, it spent $520,000 on lobbying. (It probably spent even more; as a trade group, it's not required to disclose all of its advocacy spending.) Meanwhile, IPAC lobbied for other countries to enact similar bans, arguing that CFC-based inhalers should be eliminated for environmental reasons and replaced with the new, HFC-based inhalers.

The lobbying paid off. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an outright ban on many CFC-based inhalers starting in 2009 (PDF). This June, the agency's ban on Aerobid, an inhaler used for acute asthma, took effect. Combivent, another popular treatment, will be phased out by the end of 2013.

http://motherjones.com/environment/2011/07/cost-increase-asthma-inhalers-expensive

This current move seems a logical next step.

[Mimosa]

18. Mother Jones is a great investigative source.

Thanks, Booley.

[nashville_brook]

33. amazing what a half-million dollars in lobbying (bribes) will buy.

[JoePhilly]

17. As a life long asthmatic, I don't see a big issue here, if every one stays calm ...

and takes a slow breath ... which anyone with asthma knows how to do.

First, from my experience, so long as you have a doctor who knows you have asthma, they will renew inhaler prescriptions with no follow up visits. You call in, and they refill them. So the argument that you have to go see the doc to get a prescription should only occur once. After they see you have asthma, they don't expect it to go away.

Second, the cost on RX inhalers has come down such that depending on your insurance, you can get as many as 3, for less then it costs for just one OTC inhaler. And even if you have no insurance, the inhaler costs are very low, and close to the same for similar dosages.

My sense is that this intended to pressure the OTC venders to change how their inhalers work. The current approaches, like that with primatine, do two things that are generally bad for the patient.

#1 ... the spray comes out to fast, which makes it harder to fully pull into your lungs. This may seem to be opposite of what one would expect, but this is why, even with the new inhalers, they have kids use a spacer. The inhaler disperses the spray into a tube, and the child takes a slow, deep breath from that. The OTC sprays leave most / much of the medicine in your mouth and it doesn't get pulled into your lungs very effectively. Some of it makes it, and that can help, but its a very ineffective method. And what this means is that one is better off buying the Rx inhaler because its effect will be longer lasting, and the contents of the inhaler will last longer.

#2 ... the other issue is that these OTC sprays still include other elements which simply are not good for the patient. I know from experience that the CFCs and the other elements used to disperse, often will cause the heart of the person using it to race. For most asthmatics, this isn't a good thing. First, having your heart race is not good. But second, when your heart races, you tend to breathe much faster, which is not good during an asthma attack.

Certainly there should be some kind of OTC asthma inhaler solution for a quick relief. But these OTC solutions need to move forward and drop the CFCs and other additives used in dispersal.

Oh ... and no one with Asthma should be "winging it" with an OTC approach on this. The current OTC stuff might help in a specific situation, but its not a path to living with Asthma.

[Mimosa]

20. You are lucky.

My friends who have asthma often DO have to go in to their MD's offices for refill authorisations. Maybe you have some nice liberal understanding doctors but i know people for whom getting refills is a hassle and means mandatory office visits.

I tried to help one of my friends by going in with her and explaining to doctor that my GF needs multiple inhalers: one for car, one for home, carry around because just ONE inhaler when she's panicking and can't find the ONE was DANGEROUS for the patient. NO GO!

[Frosty1]

24. The cost has come down?

My old abuterol inhaler before the change cost $16. My new albuterol inhalor after the propellent change $76.
What is wrong with this picture?

[Mimosa]

25. Those costs are current and real , Frosty.

That's why my friends who can't afford health insurance use Primatene. What the heck will they do with no OTC alternatives? That scares me. :(

[Trillo]

32. It's not just the cost of the prescription inhalers,

for many folks the albuterol inhalers, which are one common replacement, are simply not as effective. In practice this means more squirts are used, and even then the lungs don't clear quite as much. So, the inhaler costs more, and you need to use more of it to experience some relief, and you need to pay for the doctor visit. That could be as high as $300. Most Copays won't cover that due to deductibles!

So, the increased costs are far higher than just the difference in retail prices.

[Mimosa]

42. Plus adults with asthma often fall under 'pre-existing' prohibitions on health insurance

My girl friend and a male friend both moved from New Orleans after Katrina. Each had to leave behind their Louisiana health insurance coverage and obtain new policies. Both -in different states, different health insurance companies, had treatments for all respiratory conditions, including their asthma proscribed from insurance for a period of 5 years.

Insurance companies have always given asthma patients a hard time. Of course that might change in 2014 but that's 3 years from now.

Anybody who insists primatene is super dangerous for *most* asthmatics doesn't know what he or she is talking about. I just yakked with my med prof buddy who laughed at the idea. He said it was once an Rx itself as far as he knows and it's usually of more help than harm. He says leaving patients with nothing at all which is accessible and affordable will certainly result in fatalities.

[Mimosa]

55. Just talked with my GF. She says you are 100% right, Trillo. n/t

[JoePhilly]

56. I'm sorry, that is simply wrong.

The opposite is true.

The newer inhalants dispense the medication in a larger and slower moving mist. Which allows one to inhale it more deeply.

The current OTC stuff shoots the spray much faster than you can breathe it in fully.

And again, once you are diagnosed as asthmatic, most doctors will refill the prescriptions with no visit. They don't need to see you because Asthma does not go away.

And again ... the CORRECT path forward is to REMOVE the CFCs and other chemicals from the current OTC meds.

Then, you can do OTC inhalers that are far more effective.

[msanthrope]

37. There's a 9 buck presrip inhaler from Glaxo. It's got 60 shots.

If you need more than 60 shots, then you need better management of your asthma.

Asthma cannot be managed by OTC meds.

[Neurotica]

46. We had the same problem...AND our insurance then reduced the no. of inhalers by half!

As the insurance company (one of the biggest) explained to us at the time, once the CFCs were phased out, there was no longer a generic version available. Thus, the only albuterol inhaler now on the market was a top tier (Tier 3 maybe) drug.

So, ok, I sent in the mail order prescription and got half the amount I used to for 90 days. I thought the insurance company had made a mistake. Silly me! A manager explained to me that people were not managing their asthma well and were relying too much on albuterol inhalers!

I said we were managing our asthma very well, thanks, and that we were using steroid medications on a daily basis to reduce inflammation, as they could plainly see. That didn't matter...

[JoePhilly]

57. Then your source sucks.

The old propellant wastes medicine, and its side effects are dangerous.

[nashville_brook]

35. an increasing number of people aren't "in the system" to have prescriptions or doctors

so OTC meds are all they have.

[msanthrope]

38. Epinephrine doesn't help asthma sufferers...nt

[quakerboy]

64. Ive never used an OTC inhaler

My Asthma is not bad, usually if I can keep my seasonal allergys under control, then my asthma never becomes an issue.

I disagree with your assessments.

I am working on a few Pre CFC switchover inhalers for my needs. Because I havnt had a Dr in that time. I did once make it into a discount clinic. They wrote me a prescription, and I took it in. But because of how it was written, the $70 option was my only choice, I could not opt for the generic. And because I was working on from a reduced clinic, the Drs are not reliably there to be called and OK the switch. So I was unable to get a new one.

I did get one of the new HFC versions, courtesy of a family member who was proscribed one and didnt feel they needed it. The new propellant is not as effective. It does not seem to hold the medicine in suspension as well, so I seem to get more on my tongue, a powder dropping out before I can breathe it in. I did sometimes have issues with the other going so hard it ended up at the back of my throat, but I could time it to not have that happen. But if it drops before I can breathe it, I cannot time that.

I notice no difference in the level of heart racing between the prescription types, nor in the fact that they both keep me awake if I take it too close to bedtime. I always understood that was an effect of the steroid that is the main medicine, not the propellant. I guess EPI would be worse that way, though.

Some day soon, I will have to scrap together the cash to visit a dr and try again. Because I am running out.

[unblock]

21. primatene mist is probably the single most dangerous medication available otc

partly due to its side effects (including possibly lethal cardiac effects)
partly due to its drug interations (with mao inhibitors and beta-blockers and
partly due to the fact that it let asthma sufferers think they can survive without proper treatment.

[PeaceNikki]

27. The more I read on this topic, the more inclined I am to also believe this.

[eggplant]

39. Yup.

Anyone treating a chronic disease like asthma with Primatine is a fool. It is a nasty, nasty drug. Albuterol is cheap and plentiful. If you don't like it in inhalor form, get a nebulizer and use it as a liquid. It is dirt cheap per dose that way. Inhalers with spacers are shown to be as effective as nebs these days, but I understand about the cost of non-CFC inhalers.

There *are* options out there for people without insurance. Here's one: http://www.cdfund.org/

Crappy snake oil is not an acceptable substitute for real treatment.

[Mimosa]

48. MD prof pal says all inhaler drugs have a risk of complications including fatal arrythmias.

He says he's never come across a patient who has had a problem caused by using primatene but he frequently comes across patients -even insured- who cannot afford prescriptions for today's newer asthma drugs. He said many of his patients can't afford Symbacort, for one, and the drug companies CLAIM they've got these programs which will pay for Rxs which patients can't afford but 90% of the time tpatients 'don't qualify'. He says 'they just put those commercials on TV to lie to people and make the public believe there is no pressing reason to change the sucky US health care ripoff system.'

[eggplant]

66. We're only talking about fast-acting "rescue" inhalers here.

Don't needlessly confuse the issue, please.

Generic albuterol is the treatment of choice for fast-acting treatment.

[JoePhilly]

73. No, the arguement is about using the current OTC stuff to MANAGE

Asthma.

The current OTC stuff will "work" in an emergency ... but it does nothing to manage Asthma, and ... the other chemicals in it are dangerous.

The right answer is an OTC emergency inhaler that has no CFCs or other dangerous propellants.

[MuseRider]

26. Wasn't this ban on CFC's in inhalers done in 2008

under Bush? I think most every other inhaler changed because of the ban I don't know why the Epi inhalers did not.

*not sure CFC is the right acronym, Chlorofluorocarbon

[PeaceNikki]

28. Public discussions about the use of CFCs for inhalers as early as January 2006

and finalized the phase-out date for using CFCs in these inhalers and notified the public in November 2008.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm272872.htm

[MuseRider]

30. Thank you :-) n/t

[uppityperson]

43. I didn't know there were OTC inhalers, thought they were all rx'd. Epinephrine?

Wow, that sounds like something.

[WinkyDink]

44. Asthma has been one of the bees in Obama's bonnet for a while:

Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma, they end up taking up a hospital bed, it costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early and they got some treatment, and a, a breathalyzer, or inhalator, not a breathalyzer. (crowd laughing) I haven’t had much sleep in the last 48 hours.

[PeaceNikki]

45. This started in 2006 and was passed in 2008.

[WinkyDink]

47. That does not refute my comment, given I quoted Obama speaking of it.

[PeaceNikki]

49. You linked nothing. And Obama's comment had nothing to do with Primatine Mist

[jberryhill]

51. Did someone get tired of complaining about the light bulb thing?

[Mimosa]

54. What do light bulbs have to do with asthma?

If you can trivialise the current situation facing people with various degrees of asthma, some who can't afford insurance and aren't on Medicaid, you don't understand anything about health care situations which people have to cope with each day. I'm glad you're secure and you can afford to go to doctors and get your Rxs paid for. You'd be surprised how many can't.

[jberryhill]

58. You know absolutely nothing about my life

...what I've been through, what I've dealt with and what I have to deal with.

The CFC ban is not new, and the issue here is one of corporate greed.

No sale.

[durablend]

52. Nothing to see here, folks...

Just more culling of the herd.

Ain't got money for a doctor visit? Tough luck--guess you die then!

[MedicalAdmin]

53. Yes it is.

Is this a surprise to you.

Of course there are better solutions, bu some folks can't afford the access to get them. So fuck them for being a drain on taxpayers. With luck they will die quickly.

I'm not happy with want I perceive to be the indifference of some here to the underlying issue of access. I hope I'm wrong about that.

[eShirl]

62. +1

[hunter]

61. If you are depending on Primatene to control your asthma...

... you are increasing the odds asthma will kill you. Nobody should die clutching an OTC inhaler in their hand.

I'm old enough to remember when asthma medicines were primitive. I'd frequently end up in the ER in spite of the OTC availibility of theophylline and epinephrine mists. I was admitted to the hospital more times than I care to remember.

The theophylline version of Primatene tablets are long gone and Primatene mist should be long gone too. These meds are like inadequate safety ropes that will fail when you most need them.

Instead of arguing a bogus issue that smears environmentalism and public medicine in one right wing fling of monkey crap, let's encourage and enable everyone with asthma to see a physician, and support a national single-pay health care system that doesn't let anyone fall through the cracks.

[eggplant]

67. Agreed.

Arguing for access to Primatine is like asking for access to leaches. Modern asthma protocols have come a loooooooooong way.

[JCMach1]

69. After living in a country where you only need prescriptions if you need

powerful pain-killers, or psychotropic drugs, I hate the idiocy of my home country in these matters.


Open up the damn pharmacies to people who need the medicines.

Why should I pay $80+ for a doctor to prescribe ventolin when I have had asthma for years? !!!

[XemaSab]

70. In Mexico I got 2 Symbicort inhalers and 4 Ventolin inhalers

over the counter for $100 for all 6.

It's cheaper to drive to TJ and stock up than it is to go to the doctor every time I need an inhaler.

[jberryhill]

72. Fox's Weeklong Attack On Government Regulations Was Dreamed Up By Ailes

http://mediamatters.org/research/201109260019

[juajen]

74. I have been using primatene for 30 years. I have never had

a problem with this medication. One time a doctor wanted me to use a prescription. I got it and it just didn't work like my Primatene did. I rarely need it any more, maybe once every couple of months; but, when I need it, I really need it. I take Zyrtec now and it reduced my need for any other medication. I love it. Over the years they keep trying to limit the sale of otc inhalers. I hope they will go down this time as well.

[PeaceNikki]

76. The OP is misleading. It's *already* been banned. Signed into law in 2008.

The manufacturers have had 3 years to develop it with a new propellant. This headline is part of the media blitz to make the government (and Obama) look like overprotective nannies. Where was the outrage when these discussions started in 2006 and the laws signed in 2008 and every minute since? Why is there no anger at the manufacturer for not getting a product to market all this time? :shrug:

[jberryhill]

79. I know

Right on the heels of the GOP "abolish the EPA" contest at the debate.

[dembotoz]

80. a VERY useful discussion

i have asthma that is mostly controled with claritin--alergy induced?

i had 2 albuterol inhalers that i had for a couple of years-out of date but still worked.
I would use them maybe 1 time per week or so.
sometimes several times a week.

the albuterol inhalers are now gone and i have been just staying with the claritin and i would hope........

had very crappy insurance and now currently no insurance
have not been to a doctor in well over a year now......

I may have insurance again soon and getting back on proper asthma and starting up my high blood pressure meds again is quite a priority.

i am amazed at how the relevance of the heath care debate changed for me when i ended up with no insurance.

[Name removed]

81. Deleted message

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