Advocacy

Experts Advocate Adoption of CFC-free Inhalers

India is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol and is working towards phasing out CFCs by January 2010

In a key development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has urged asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients and health professionals to adopt environment-friendly asthma and COPD inhalers. This was being advocated by Dr Surinder Singh, Drug Controller of India at workshop on phase-out of CFCs (Chloroflurocarbons) in Metered-Dose Inhalers (MDIs), transition strategy implementation and adoption of CFC-free alternatives in India at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Said Dr Surinder Singh, "Every effort has been made to look after people with asthma or COPD who use inhalers. Environmentally-friendly asthma and COPD inhalers are being introduced across the country as chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) phase-out gains momentum. Soon all asthma and COPD inhalers in India will be either dry powder or they will use a new hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant."

India is one of 195 signatories to the Montreal Protocol and it is working towards phasing out CFCs completely by January 2010. CFCs destroy the ozone layer that protects life on earth from harmful UV radiation.

Talking about the CFC-free alternatives, Prof Deka, Director AIIMS, explained, "These CFC-free inhalers provide the same medicine and the same health benefits as the old CFC-containing inhalers without damaging the ozone layer." Some patients may be worried that the medicine in the new inhalers is not the same as the medicine they are used to, because the new inhalers can make it feel, sound, smell or taste different. "The medicine is exactly the same medicine and it is just as effective. The spray from the new inhaler may feel softer than from the old one, but it is just as good, or even better, at delivering the drug to where it is needed. It's also a good opportunity to review patients' asthma and COPD treatment and make sure they have their condition is under control," he added

Extensive clinical trials have been undertaken to determine the safety and effectiveness of the new metered dose inhalers compared with their CFC-containing predecessors. The CFC-free inhalers have been found to be as safe and effective as the CFC-containing inhalers as well as providing a number of additional benefits.

Research has shown that the HFA solutions produce very small particles which penetrate the small airways in the lung better than the older CFC formulation of the same medicine. Some CFC-free metered-dose inhalers produce particles that travel slower than those in the CFC-containing inhalers, which can make it easier for patients to inhale at the right time when activating the inhaler. And, some of the new CFC-free inhalers have spray that is warmer and less forceful, so it may reduce the risk of patients holding their breath, which can happen when they feel a cold spray.

Worldwide there are 300 million people with asthma and over 210 million with COPD. As inhalers are the best way to treat these conditions and as the use of inhalers is increasing throughout the world, a lot of effort went into the development of CFC-free inhalers. It has taken more than 20 years of research to develop the CFC-free metered dose inhalers.

EH News Bureau