So, on one hand, the Cult of Climastrology claims Hotcoldwetdry will cause asthma to get worse. On the other…
Your asthma puffer is probably contributing to climate change, but there’s a better alternative
I breathe all the way out. There’s a quiet puff of gas from my inhaler, and I breathe all the way in. I hold my breath for a few seconds and the medicine is where it needs to be: in my lungs.
Many readers with asthma or other lung disease will recognise this ritual. But I suspect few will connect it with climate change. Until recently, neither did I.
Because only nutjobs think that way.
The one most often found in asthma metered dose inhalers, norflurane, is 1,430 times more potent than the best-known warming culprit, carbon dioxide. Another, apaflurane, is 3,220 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Such warming power explains why even the small amounts in an inhaler are significant. Globally, tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide equivalent are attributable annually to these inhaler gases. (snip)
A person using a preventer inhaler monthly, plus the odd reliever inhaler, could easily release the annual equivalent of a quarter of a ton of carbon dioxide — that’s like burning 100 litres of petrol.
But, just to make sure The Conversation and writer Brett Montgomery do not get sued
If metered dose inhalers are a better choice for you, please don’t panic or quit your medicines. These gases probably won’t be the biggest contributor to your personal carbon footprint. Asthma control is really important, and these medicines work really well. But consider changing if it’s an option for you — when it comes to reducing our footprint, every little bit counts.
As Eric Worrall notes
As a lifelong asthmatic I’m familiar with different inhalers. I can tolerate the powder inhalers, but I know people who can’t – powder inhalers can irritate the airways. It would be unfortunate and harmful if this stretch of a climate warning develops into a movement to ban HFC propellent in asthma inhalers, or makes such inhalers more difficult to obtain or more expensive.
Heh. Climate warning.
They have already ruined inhalers by moving from CFC based propellants to HFA based. Completely killed the generic inhaler market in the process; which I assume was the true purpose, not the ozone layer as they proclaimed. My inhaler costs went through the roof, from $10 to $45 copay. Furthermore I’ve yet to be offered a powder based rescue inhaler, I’m not sure they exist.
The good doctor needs a colleague to remove his head from his rectum.
I use the ventolin HFA rescue inhaler. My insurance wanted me to switch to ProAir. But the Ventolin works for me. I pay retail now, as my copay for the ProAir was only $10 less.