US FDA to phase-out CFC inhalers by end of the year
Most have already been removed from the market, but the remaining two will be phased out by the end of December
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will complete its phase-out of all inhaler medical products containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by 31 December, in compliance with an international treaty to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the worldwide production of substances, including CFCs, which contribute to ozone depletion.
While most inhaler products containing CFCs have already been phased out by the FDA, two products currently remain on the market: Combivent Inhalation Aerosol and Maxair Autohaler. However, these products will no longer be available after the end of this year. People with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who use these inhalers should seek an alternative treatment.
'CFCs were used as propellants to move the drug out of inhalers so that patients can inhale the medicine,' said Badrul Chowdhury, Director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Rheumatology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. 'For more than two decades, the FDA and EPA have collaborated to phase out CFCs in inhalers – a process that included input from the public, advisory committees, manufacturers, and stakeholders.'
Most inhalers that used CFCs have already been phased out. The most widely used – albuterol CFC inhaler – was phased out in 2008 and replaced with inhalers that use propellants called hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs).
The US and most other countries signed an agreement in 1987 called the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to phase out the worldwide production and use of CFCs. In the US, CFCs have been removed from such products as hairsprays, deodorants and air conditioning.