Q. I'm surprised you haven’t mentioned an important issue facing asthmatics. The FDA has decided that generic albuterol inhalers should be taken off the market. The result is that these stalwarts of asthma relief will no longer be available.
Instead, the generic inhalers are being replaced by the exact same medicine with a different delivery system. That means it will cost substantially more. How could a generic magically turn into a more expensive brand name drug?
A. The FDA has determined that asthma inhalers may no longer contain CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). These propellant gases damage ozone and the U.S. agreed years ago to eliminate them from spray cans, air conditioning units and refrigerators.
This means that lower-cost generic albuterol inhalers will disappear. People with asthma may have trouble finding such products even before the 2008 deadline.
They are being replaced by alternatives that use HFA (hydrofluoroalkane). Brand names like ProAir HFA, Proventil HFA and Ventolin HFA all contain albuterol, but they do cost more than the old generic CFC powered inhalers.
