The government is asking asthma patients and doctors for help in deciding if it is time to gradually pull off the market certain asthma inhalers that pollute the environment. Older asthma inhalers use CFCs, the chlorofluorocarbons that deplete the ozone layer. An international treaty requires that they be phased out once suitable alternatives are available. Two CFC-free inhalers containing the popular asthma medicine albuterol, a bronchodilator, are on the market. The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) on Wednesday proposed gradually phasing out the four other albuterol inhalers sold that use CFCs.
