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Asthmatics Will Breathe 'Green'

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The Associated Press

Published: December 2, 2008

WASHINGTON - Last warning: Asthma's rescue inhalers go "green" on Dec. 31, forcing patients still using the old-fashioned kind to make a pricey and even confusing switch.

The medicine inside these rescue inhalers - the albuterol that quickly opens airways during an asthma attack - isn't changing. But the chemicals used to puff that drug into your lungs are.

No more chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that damage Earth's protective ozone layer. By year's end, all albuterol inhalers must be powered by the more eco-friendly chemical HFA, or hydrofluoroalkane.

And patients face a learning curve. HFA inhalers must be used differently than the old-fashioned kind. The medicine feels and tastes different, sometimes alarming new users despite doctors' assurances that it works just as well.

THE NEW INHALERS

•The CFC-free options: GlaxoSmithKline's Ventolin HFA, Schering Plough's Proventil HFA and Teva Specialty Pharmaceuticals' ProAir HFA all contain albuterol.

•Sepracor's Xopenex HFA contains the similar medication levalbuterol.

•Albuterol manufacturers are providing free samples and posting coupons on their Web sites.

•Specialists worry that patients will try to save money by using an old nonprescription inhaler that contains a different drug, epinephrine, best known by the name Primatene Mist. National asthma guidelines argue against such self-treatment as risky and less effective than albuterol.

THE 411 FOR PATIENTS

•Expect a softer puff instead of the CFC version's cold blast of air in the back of the throat.

•The new inhalers clog more often because HFA makes the drug stickier. Clean the nozzle weekly, following the instructions unique to each brand. Never get the whole device wet.

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