Editing Inhaler (section)

==Propellants==
In 2009, the FDA banned the use of inhalers that use [[chlorofluorocarbons]] (CFC) as [[Propellant#Compressed fluid propellants|propellants]]. In their place, inhalers now use [[hydrofluoroalkane]] (HFA). HFA is not environmentally inert as it is a [[greenhouse gas]] but it does not affect the [[ozone layer]].<ref name=baumann/> While some people with asthma and advocacy groups contend that HFA inhalers are not as effective,<ref name="storyid1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ksdk.com/news/living_green/story.aspx?storyid=149094&catid=116 |title=Asthma Group Concerned "Green" Inhalers May Not be as Effective &#124; ksdk.com &#124; St. Louis, MO |publisher=ksdk.com |access-date=2010-11-21}}</ref> published clinical studies indicate CFC and HFA inhalers are equally effective in controlling asthma.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hendeles L, Colice GL, Meyer RJ |title=Withdrawal of albuterol inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbon propellants |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=356 |issue=13 |pages=1344–51 |date=March 2007 |pmid=17392304 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra050380 }}</ref>

While the impact of CFCs from inhalers on the ozone layer had been minuscule (dwarfed by industrial processes using CFCs), the FDA in its interpretation of the [[Montreal Protocol]] mandated the switch in propellants.<ref name=baumann>{{cite journal |url=http://motherjones.com/environment/2011/07/cost-increase-asthma-inhalers-expensive |author=Nick Baumann |title=Why You're Paying More to Breathe| journal=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=July–August 2011 }}</ref> Patients expressed concern about the high price of the HFA inhalers as there were initially no generic versions, whereas generic CFC inhalers had been available.<ref name="storyid1"/>