Asthma Inhalers Go Green, But Are More Expensive

December 30, 2008 9:27 p.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - People suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments will be forced to shell out more money to by "green" inhalers beginning in the new year.

Since the United States signed on to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, U.S. drug companies must sell inhalers that use the propellant hydrofluoralkane, or HFA.

Environmentalists say the propellant used in traditional inhalers damages the ozone layer.

But the HFA inhalers are significantly more expensive.

Most of the new HFA inhalers cost between $30 and $60. Old inhalers cost between $5 and $25, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The cost has some healthcare professionals concerned lower income people may cut back on their prescriptions. Inhalers are used by asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive disorder patients to deliver the drug albuterol for quick relief of symptoms associated with those diseases.

Old inhalers used chlorofluorocarbons to deliver the drug.

Some patients say the new inhalers are less effective in delivering relief.