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EPA to ban affordable inhalers?

bowerbird said:
((((((((((((((((((sigh))))))))))))))))))))))))

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They are not going to ban inhalers merely change the propellant used - which happened here years ago so I have no idea why America is dragging it's butt and then screaming poor - it is not as if there is any new technology or product to justify the price hike
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You forget, you live in Australia. With what has been happening here in the last few years, all bets are off.
 
bicycleman said:
You forget, you live in Australia. With what has been happening here in the last few years, all bets are off.
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??????? That doesn't address her point at all.
 
bicycleman said:
You forget, you live in Australia. With what has been happening here in the last few years, all bets are off.
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Believe me, I will not forget that I live in Australia!!

But we have already made the switch, as have many other nations - America has actually delayed until just about the time when the price will come down - so really YOU are the lucky ones this time
 
bowerbird said:
Believe me, I will not forget that I live in Australia!!

But we have already made the switch, as have many other nations - America has actually delayed until just about the time when the price will come down - so really YOU are the lucky ones this time
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I hope you are right, BB. I was hoping for input from the medical professionals all over this forum, and I wasn't disappointed. I'm glad it has been over-hyped from that news article, and maybe there is not a whole lot to it. I always looked at Primatine Mist being the last resort if I was caught without a rescue inhaler. Then again, you can't beat piping hot tea or coffee when you're in a real jam, especially when you leave the inhaler at home.
 
bicycleman said:
I hope you are right, BB. I was hoping for input from the medical professionals all over this forum, and I wasn't disappointed. I'm glad it has been over-hyped from that news article, and maybe there is not a whole lot to it. I always looked at Primatine Mist being the last resort if I was caught without a rescue inhaler. Then again, you can't beat piping hot tea or coffee when you're in a real jam, especially when you leave the inhaler at home.
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Especially coffee as caffeine include trace amounts of theophylline - although you would probably have to drink Starbucks dry to get any real relief from the trace amounts
 
Manc Skipper said:
Did you miss the title of this thread then? Also several other similar bits of scaremongering nonsense on the same theme on other sites?
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Did I miss the title? It's my title.

Thread: EPA to ban affordable inhalers? Now, is it true that the more affordable inhalers are being banned or not?
 
bowerbird said:
Like there is 200 million asthmatics worldwide and about 300 million COPD sufferers who were using CFC's - the question still remains - if all the other countries have swapped over why is it costing America so much? Although Wiki gives us some clues - as well as a heads up that this might only be temporary
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Thanks, so I don't see what the big deal would be since we've waited this long to have put this off until the patents run out and not have so many financially affected even it isn't a long time.
 
1Perry said:
Thanks, so I don't see what the big deal would be since we've waited this long to have put this off until the patents run out and not have so many financially affected even it isn't a long time.
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It is just an observation but I have noticed a tendency of the media in America, particularly the right leaning media to "play the victim role". Some of that is blame shifting i.e. why is it that Americans pay more for drugs - the answer is not "because big pharma are gouging you" but "because America subsidises the rest of the world". Some of this is Big pharma playing on the inherent tendencies of people to want to show themselves as victims and thus deflect suspicion away from obscene levels of profits,
 
bowerbird said:
It is just an observation but I have noticed a tendency of the media in America, particularly the right leaning media to "play the victim role". Some of that is blame shifting i.e. why is it that Americans pay more for drugs - the answer is not "because big pharma are gouging you" but "because America subsidises the rest of the world". Some of this is Big pharma playing on the inherent tendencies of people to want to show themselves as victims and thus deflect suspicion away from obscene levels of profits,
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Some of it is because we subsidise the rest of the world. Many positions are not addressed by one simple point. The obscene level of profits would be spread around if the U.S. wasn't subsidising them.

That we could wait the short time until generics are available would at least curb some of the obscene profits.
 
rathi said:
Reagan signed a treaty to lower CFC emissions. The removal of CFC propelled inhalers was done to meet treaty requirements.
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CFC inhalers were exempt from the ban. It was Clinton who removed the exemption. The ban went into effect, at least on RX albuterol inhalers, on 1-1-09, although they started phasing the new inhalers in before that. People were hoarding the old ones like crazy. It was very upsetting because this is the type of inhaler me and one of my children use and the new inhalers just aren't as effective. They are also more costly and, frustratingly, they're not very "green". These new inhalers come sealed in foil and once you open the foil the instructions are to discard them after 12 months, even if they're still half full and haven't reached their expiration date. The old albuterol inhalers lasted much longer because you could use them until the expiration date. We definitely go through more of the non-CFC inhalers because of this.

It really makes me mad because I feel these were political decisions made about something that should be strictly medical.
 
bowerbird said:
Especially coffee as caffeine include trace amounts of theophylline - although you would probably have to drink Starbucks dry to get any real relief from the trace amounts
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I tend to avoid Starbucks, but I actually think it's the fumes coming up from the extremely hot beverage. It's like a vaporizer. I do possess a home Nebulizer, if things get extreme at night, but that too is a last resort because of the way it leaves me afterwards, ovely giddy and then can't sleep. I pretend I'm smoking dope through a hookah. I figure that's the closest I will ever get to a hookah by prescription.:lol:
 
bowerbird said:
It is just an observation but I have noticed a tendency of the media in America, particularly the right leaning media to "play the victim role". Some of that is blame shifting i.e. why is it that Americans pay more for drugs - the answer is not "because big pharma are gouging you" but "because America subsidises the rest of the world". Some of this is Big pharma playing on the inherent tendencies of people to want to show themselves as victims and thus deflect suspicion away from obscene levels of profits,
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I hate to admit that, but you are correct regarding the American right-winged media. They tend to put an eye-catching title on the news story, which has nothing to do with the actual story. For example, over the weekend, I saw a headline which said that Obama was urging blacks to fight. Of course, it sucked me in, and all the article said was that he was urging them to get out and vote like they did the last time. Unfortunately, all media outlets, regardless of their political affiliation practice those deceitful tactics.

I agree regarding Americans paying way too much for drugs. Perhaps, we should all buy our drugs from Australia.
 
1Perry said:
Did I miss the title? It's my title.

Thread: EPA to ban affordable inhalers? Now, is it true that the more affordable inhalers are being banned or not?
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I also put up a similar thread in the Health section which I had merged with this one. When I posted mine, I was concerned from a medical standpoint and was hoping for input from the medical professionals who post here, and I have not been disappointed because I have obtained some useful information.
 
Dix said:
CFC inhalers were exempt from the ban. It was Clinton who removed the exemption. The ban went into effect, at least on RX albuterol inhalers, on 1-1-09, although they started phasing the new inhalers in before that. People were hoarding the old ones like crazy. It was very upsetting because this is the type of inhaler me and one of my children use and the new inhalers just aren't as effective. They are also more costly and, frustratingly, they're not very "green". These new inhalers come sealed in foil and once you open the foil the instructions are to discard them after 12 months, even if they're still half full and haven't reached their expiration date. The old albuterol inhalers lasted much longer because you could use them until the expiration date. We definitely go through more of the non-CFC inhalers because of this.

It really makes me mad because I feel these were political decisions made about something that should be strictly medical.
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Yeah, I have noticed that you can't seem to get the blue inhalers anymore. Instead they substitute the ones in the orange dispensers, which when you use them, you're not sure you're even getting a dosage. I do taste the stuff, though. Fortunately, it takes years for me to go through one, since I seldom need them. Having the allergy shots really helped me a lot, but the drawback when I took the shots was being exposed to all the sick people in the Allergist's office. Since I have stopped the shots, I get sick, less. When I do get an upper respiratory ailment, it really makes it difficult to breathe so I have a supply of Medrol at hand. Of course, I don't follow the doctor's prescribed method of taking it. I will take one tablet a day for about 2 days, and then I won't take anymore. Medrol is described as generic Prednisone, but you don't have to go through the same treatment regimen prescribed for Prednisone.
 
rathi said:
Important Facts.

1) The U.S. is bound by the Montreal treaty, signed in 1987, which has timetables for phasing our a ozone attacking gases called CFC. CFC is used to propel the drug in an inhaler.
2) The FDA mandated the end of most CFC inhalers back in 2008. This article is about a specific type of inhaler for that dispenses epinephrine that is being taken off the market by 2012.
3) The CFC propellant has largely been replaced by another type of gases called HFA in most inhalers.
4) There is no HFA version that dispenses the epinephrine drug. Users will have to switch to an entirely different drug called albuterol.
5) The Pharma industry made a deliberate choice not to develop an HFA epinephrine inhaler back in 2007, even though the FDA pointed out there were no technical barriers.

Its easier to force consumers to buy a new more expensive prescription drug than create an actual replacement. Yet another example of the American public being bent over by the drug industry.
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Yes but worst of all it's based on the Hoax that any global warming that there might be is some how man caused which it is not.

When are we going to put human life and the economy ahead of AL Gores lies that only make him and the CEOs of the environmentally ill organizations rolling in the money they make off the Hoax.
 
1Perry said:
Did I miss the title? It's my title.

Thread: EPA to ban affordable inhalers? Now, is it true that the more affordable inhalers are being banned or not?
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It is not true.
ONE inhaler containing a banned propellant will be withdrawn from sale. The manufacturers have chosen not to replace it. Do you want the government to force them to make some?
 
CFC inhalers were exempt from the ban. It was Clinton who removed the exemption.
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That is because the Montreal treaty sensibly didn't start banning things until after a suitable replacement had been developed. The actual phasing out of CFC's didn't start until the mid 2000's.

The ban went into effect, at least on RX albuterol inhalers, on 1-1-09, although they started phasing the new inhalers in before that. People were hoarding the old ones like crazy. It was very upsetting because this is the type of inhaler me and one of my children use and the new inhalers just aren't as effective. They are also more costly and, frustratingly, they're not very "green". These new inhalers come sealed in foil and once you open the foil the instructions are to discard them after 12 months, even if they're still half full and haven't reached their expiration date. The old albuterol inhalers lasted much longer because you could use them until the expiration date. We definitely go through more of the non-CFC inhalers because of this.
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Who do you think profits from inhalers that are disposable: hint its not the government. The Pharma industry can profit from BS like this and simply used the transition to a new technology. as a cover for their greed. Unfortunately, it seems that their deception was largely successful.

It really makes me mad because I feel these were political decisions made about something that should be strictly medical.
Click to expand...

The Montreal Treaty was very much a medical decision to protect the U.S. and the entire world from getting skin cancer.
 
Councilman said:
Yes but worst of all it's based on the Hoax that any global warming that there might be is some how man caused which it is not.

When are we going to put human life and the economy ahead of AL Gores lies that only make him and the CEOs of the environmentally ill organizations rolling in the money they make off the Hoax.
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Are you really so ignorant that you think Ozone damage is the same thing as global warming? Hint: there is a giant fricking hole in the atmosphere over Antarctica. We saw in appear during the 1980's as a direct result of human activity. Back then it was expanding and ozone levels were being depleted in other parts of the world. Today we have stopped increased the damage and might reach 1975 levels in a few decades provided we keep our current policies in place.
 
rathi said:
Are you really so ignorant that you think Ozone damage is the same thing as global warming? Hint: there is a giant fricking hole in the atmosphere over Antarctica. We saw in appear during the 1980's as a direct result of human activity. Back then it was expanding and ozone levels were being depleted in other parts of the world. Today we have stopped increased the damage and might reach 1975 levels in a few decades provided we keep our current policies in place.
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As someone who uses the inhalers in question, I am not mad about removing cfcs from them.

The cfc/ozone thing was some bad juju.

I think the reason you're seeing such vehement responses is that everyone agreed, except cfc manufaturers/users, that the phenomenon was man made.

And "everybody" knows human activity can't affect the atmosphere.

See how that kinda conflicts?
 
How many more patents are holding the costs of pharmaceuticals up? I seem to remember hearing somewhere that the companies are worried that when their patents run out they will have a problem. They seem to be running out of ideas for new drugs in the works. Is it possible that with the speed of development and marketing at some of the big pharmas, long term patents are ensuring record profits at our expense? With the so called free market, I would think that the big companies could still make a profit even with generics all over the market. It's called advertisement. None of this is as scary as gene patenting though...

Ah, the slippery slope from ozone depletion to global climate change. The giant hole in the ozone that mysteriously appeared in the sky during our heaviest usage of CFCs couldn't possibly have been man made. Just like huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases being put out during a time of extreme fossil fuel usage couldn't possibly cause an effect (greenhouse) that we KNOW to exist. The thresholds and limits are not known yet, but it can't hurt to be reasonably cautious. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away.
 
What if...? said:
As someone who uses the inhalers in question, I am not mad about removing cfcs from them.

The cfc/ozone thing was some bad juju.

I think the reason you're seeing such vehement responses is that everyone agreed, except cfc manufaturers/users, that the phenomenon was man made.

And "everybody" knows human activity can't affect the atmosphere.

See how that kinda conflicts?
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The CFC manufacturers motives were blatantly transparent. Dupont argued against CFC restriction when they sold Freon until they completely 180ed their position after getting patents on HCFC replacements.
 
rathi said:
That is because the Montreal treaty sensibly didn't start banning things until after a suitable replacement had been developed. The actual phasing out of CFC's didn't start until the mid 2000's.



Who do you think profits from inhalers that are disposable: hint its not the government. The Pharma industry can profit from BS like this and simply used the transition to a new technology. as a cover for their greed. Unfortunately, it seems that their deception was largely successful.



The Montreal Treaty was very much a medical decision to protect the U.S. and the entire world from getting skin cancer.
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It didn't work. I have had pre-cancerous skin growths removed from my skin, right and left. Thus the plight of all of us runners and cyclists, not to mention construction workers and farmers, who spend many hours out doors. I wouldn't consider that it was an alleged hole in the ozone layer, I would say it was spending way too much time in the sun. My father warned me about it when I used to lay out in the sun sunbathing, and my dad was born in 1907. Back then nobody ever heard of the ozone layer, much less, any holes in it, and I doubt there are any holes in it now, either.
 
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bicycleman said:
I also put up a similar thread in the Health section which I had merged with this one. When I posted mine, I was concerned from a medical standpoint and was hoping for input from the medical professionals who post here, and I have not been disappointed because I have obtained some useful information.
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So have I. People will not be able to buy the affordable inhalers, but hopefully in a few years, prices will come down......at which time someone finds something wrong with those inhalers.
 
rathi said:
That is because the Montreal treaty sensibly didn't start banning things until after a suitable replacement had been developed. The actual phasing out of CFC's didn't start until the mid 2000's.


Who do you think profits from inhalers that are disposable: hint its not the government. The Pharma industry can profit from BS like this and simply used the transition to a new technology. as a cover for their greed. Unfortunately, it seems that their deception was largely successful.


The Montreal Treaty was very much a medical decision to protect the U.S. and the entire world from getting skin cancer.
Click to expand...

There was no need to ban CFC inhalers. Their emissions were minimal. Banning them has no effect on skin cancer. I disagree that they waited until a suitable replacement was developed. The new inhalers don't work as well.
Saying "Pharma" profits so it's not the government is a smokescreen. It was Clinton who took away the exemption, thus CFC inhalers were banned.
 
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