Would patients switch to more eco-friendly asthma inhalers?
When you think of asthma patients and climate change, you probably think of how this population is especially impacted by poor air quality.
As it turns out, that’s not the only connection.
Increasingly, asthma patients are hearing a pitch from their doctors: Change your medication to help yourself and the planet.
So, how do asthma inhalers contribute to greenhouse gas emissions? And what is the more eco-friendly alternative?
Take a deep breath—let’s dive in.
The asthma inhaler status quo
The average asthma patient is equipped with a boot-shaped aerosol inhaler. In fact, this inhaler represents around 90% of U.S. asthma medications.
Clinicians teach them to take a puff, hold the medication in their lungs for ten seconds, and exhale. They should now be able to breathe a bit easier.
There’s no doubt the standard inhaler saves lives—but as a rescue medication and for helping patients control their symptoms in the long term.
However, each inhaler puff comes with a carbon footprint. A single aerosol spray releases a hydrofluorocarbon gas 1,430–3,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, the most familiar greenhouse gas. And with around 144 million of these inhalers prescribed in the U.S. each year, just the American inhaler carbon emissions match those of a year’s worth of driving 500,000 gas-powered cars.
And as we noted in the beginning, greenhouse gas emissions contribute to creating more wildfire smoke, ground-level ozone, and longer allergy seasons—meaning more inhaler use for asthma patients. The cycle continues.
What are dry powder inhalers?
There is an alternative: dry powder inhalers.
With this device, patients suck the powdered medicine into the lungs from a small, flat plastic cylinder without the help of a gas puff.
The environmental benefit is clear: no greenhouse gas emissions.
But eco-friendly attitudes are not the only reason providers are increasingly encouraging their patients to switch. There’s growing evidence that dry powder inhalers may yield better asthma control than their standard inhaler cousins. In the U.K., patients using dry powder inhalers were found to have better-managed asthma. And in Sweden, where most asthma patients use dry inhalers, severe asthma rates are lower than in the U.S.
Adoption challenges
However, this growing body of evidence supporting dry powder inhalers doesn’t mean convincing patients to switch is an easy task.
Here are a few reasons asthma patients might be resistant to the dry powder switch:
- Finances: Dry powder inhalers are often the more expensive option.
- Eligibility: They’re not recommended for young children or elderly patients.
- Comfort: Patients often rely on the sound puff inhalers make to ensure they’ve received the right dose.
- Taste: Some patients may find the dry powder inhalers unpleasant
Of course, if some patients can make the switch, that’s better for our planet than nothing. In the meantime, inhaler manufacturers like AstraZeneca are pledging to produce gas inhalers that emit less potent greenhouse gasses. The U.S. FDA is even studying the production of more eco-friendly inhalers.
As we covered in our recent feature on the sustainability of radiology, medical fields that contribute to climate change often have the highest stakes—and highest potential for leadership—in developing solutions. We look forward to the innovation from the lung health and drug delivery fields in greening asthma therapies in the coming years.