FDA Says Inhalers Using Chlorofluorocarbons to
Dispense Albuterol Will Be Banned at End of 2008

March 31, 2005 7:41 AM

WASHINGTON --  Inhalers using chlorofluorocarbons to
dispense the drug albuterol will be banned at the end
of 2008, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.

CFCs, once widely used as aerosol propellants in a
variety of products, have been removed from use because
they can damage the Earth's protective ozone layer.

Their use with albuterol, which helps prevent wheezing,
shortness of breath and troubled breathing caused by
asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, had been
exempted from the ban.

The FDA said Thursday, however, that by December 31, 2008,
there will be sufficient supplies of albuterol inhalers
using environmentally friendly propellants.  As of that
date, inhalers using CFC can no longer be produced,
marketed or sold in the United States.
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