Don’t miss these three:
The New York Times Wrote About the CFC to HFA Inhaler Change Today
I doubt the switch or the differences in the new inhalers are news to any of you. AG’s been using the HFA models since fall, when our pharmacy stopped stocking the old ones. Still, it’s nice to see the Times pick up the story, particularly since it addresses the much higher cost–and subsequent enormous profits for pharmaceutical companies–of the new inhalers. I’ve complained more than once how my co-pay’s for AG’s meds have now doubled. I can’t imagine how the uninsured are affording the price difference. (via Dr. Mintz)
PolicyLink Must Want Me to Love Them
Because they just published Breathing Easy from Home to School: Fighting the Environmental Triggers of Childhood Asthma. It’s a report that advocates a comprehensive approach to reducing asthma triggers. You know, through things like smart growth, considering health effects when making city planning decisions, raise awareness about global warming’s health risks, and promoting reduced car emissions through higher use of public transportation.
PolicyLink has a whole slew of practical, wide-ranging solutions, all of which advocate addressing asthma on a community and environmental level rather than just leaving parents to fend for themselves with an inhaler in one hand and a prescription for prednisone in another. Finally.
Yep, it’s love all right. Here’s the full report pdf and the executive summary pdf.
And speaking of public transportation’s effect on the environment, over on Celsias.com I talk about high gas prices–how they’re changing the way America buys cars and whether they could lead to a more eco-friendly transportation profile for the U.S. over the long term:
Paying more for gasoline has prompted Americans to do what climate change warnings and our number-one ranking in CO2 emissions couldn’t do. This country is ending its long and dirty love affair with massive trucks and SUVs in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The reversal represents an enormous shift in trends, but it’s nice to think more innovative transportation solutions may loom on the horizon, however distant.
Read the rest of the article.
Thanks for the PolicyLink shout-out, Amy. We really hope that this new report will help families and communities combat some of the hardest-to-change asthma triggers. Folks can keep up with our other health work at http://www.EquityBlog.org. Thanks again…and great blog!! — Dan at PolicyLink
I hope so, too, and am beyond excited you guys are addressing community change and not just changes at home. Thanks again!
I know you probably won’t agree with me here, but I think they should go back to the old inhalers. I hate the hfa. Not only do they cost more, they taste awful.
The pharmacy here at Shoreline that I get my meds from gets only so many of the old inhalers, and I usually get the pharmacist to save them for me. However, sometimes the good inhalers are gone, and I have to suffer with the HFA’s for a month or two until they go empty.
I don’t really use my rescue inhalers much anymore anyway, but when I do, I prefer the stuff they say is bad for the ozone. That’s just me though.
Freadom, I’d go back to the old inhalers in a heartbeat if we could! Or at least until we can get a generic version of the HFA. I haven’t noticed that they’re any less effective for AG, but she HATES the taste and I HATE the price.
Plus–and I should probably do some more research on this and try to contact the person who originally told me—but I heard the difference on the ozone is minimal between the two. A lot of people believe the HFA’s have NO impact, but I heard that’s not actually true. Again, my facts aren’t completely straight on this!
Also, the CFC ruling didn’t just affect inhalers and yes, I support the overall ban on CFC production, but I just have to wonder about the impact of things like inhalers compared to, say, the emissions-spewing coal-fired power plants in this country!
Greetings:
I really hope I’m not working toward a fruitless goal but I am severely concerned about the uninsured and minimally insured in reference to the new ProAir HFA which has replaced the Provental Albuterol Inhaler. My Pharmacy has indicated to me that the only Albuterol Inhaler on Oxford’s Preferred (medications) list is the OLD once which they can’t sell anymore so I’m forced to either choose to not breath (tea and breathing exercises) go to the ER, or pay twice if not triple the inhaler cost WITH coverage.
My every attempt (all exceedingly polite) to call Oxford has failed to get me a singe name, number or adrdess for anyone in their Corporate offices for me to send a letter about my concern.
Any idea if and where I can find any advocates / lobbyists for a better deal for Asthma sufferers who rely on this medication to get through life? Perhaps how a person goes about getting the names for an organization’s senior staff?
My thanks to you.
Regards,
Ross Baker, NY