Friday, January 16, 2009

New FDA inhaler ban worries some Treasure Coast patients

To save the earth, the U.S. government might be leaving some people short of breath.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency have banned production, as of Dec. 31, of all inhalers using chlorofluorocarbons to propel medication into people's lungs. CFCs deplete the ozone layer... [snip]

But 40 million Americans rely on inhalers, and not all of them are convinced the new inhalers — which rely on environmentally friendly aerosol hydrofluoroalkane, or HFA — are as medically effective. The new inhalers also cost about $50, more than twice the price of the ozone-depleting versions...

"If the amount of drug that is being delivered to the lung is not adequate, then clearly the solution is not to switch over from CFC to HFA," Light said. "I think that you have to listen to people when this happens."
I am a liberal, tree-hugging hippie, card-carrying member of Green Peace and Sierra Club. I care about the Earth. I don't want to see us destroy it,"
said Christine McKean of Vero Beach, 28, who has cystic fibrosis, another common ailment that requires the use of inhalers.
"If I thought that the CFCs in inhalers were a major factor in the destruction of the ozone layer, I might be more against them."

[translation: he never meant for his religious fatwas to effect him ]

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