Posted in Its all a Matter of Learning

Just when you think you've heard it all, power mongers and uneducated activists will leave you scratching your head!  We have all heard the environmentalists making their many unproven statements about the ozone layer depletion due to CFC's.  The latest attack is now upon innocent asthmatics, young AND old alike! 
A recent FDA ruling requires that ozone-damaging chemicals called CFC propellants be removed from inhalers, including Primatene Mist.  In January 2006, an advisory panel voted 11-7  to recommend that the FDA remove the "essential use" status that Primatene Mist and other similar nonprescription inhalers require to be sold, spokeswoman Laura Alvey said.  They are planning a complete BAN of these inhalers by DEC. 2008! 

Here's an interesting piece on what's happening in the North with the ozone. This is only one of many articles. 

http://www.discerningtoday.org/ozone_depl_twilight_.htm

Thus, Mt. Erebus spews out over 150,000 tons of HF in the Antarctica stratosphere. Only 2,480 tons per year of fluorine are theoretically released by the alleged breakup of CFCs. Even more curious is that most CFCs are produced in the northern hemisphere, yet little to no corresponding ozone thinning has occurred at the north pole!

I have spent quite a bit of time reading articles and browsing forums and the majority are singing the same tune.  Drugs that are being distributed to control symptoms of asthma sufferers DO NOT and CANNOT replace emergency inhalers.  No one can predict when and where an asthmatic can have an attack.  It can be brought on by just about anything an asthmatic can be allergic to; pets, cold air, molds, over exertion, the list varies with the individual.  Emergency inhalers are lifesaving in these instances.  Primatene Mist is used by 3 million Americans for mild or intermittent cases of asthma and when you can't breath and don't have access to your primary inhaler, the Primatene Mist in the past has been available in stores and drugstores sold as an over-the-counter for the past 60 years!  Some nay-sayers claim that in an emergency, you can easily hop on over to your nearest ER and they'll fix you right up!  SURE, if you can plan WHEN and WHERE you have an asthma attack!



Dr. John Murray of Vanderbilt University Medical Center has this to say;

However, pulling these products from the market could force patients who self-treat their asthma to obtain proper care from physicians, said Dr. John Murray of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"The real concern is letting people self-medicate their asthma and potentially get into serious trouble covering up the symptoms," Murray said. "If Primatene Mist is pulled from the market, the result would hopefully bring more asthmatics to seek appropriate medical care."

But he does not get it.  Asthma can only be controlled and the added drugs prescribed can only do just that, control the symptoms.  For those people with mild asthma, who use products like Primatene Mist periodically, several times a year for seasonal allergies, why should they be given a daily prescription with the added side effects that would also cost 3 times the amount? 


Some have also made the claim that Primatene Mist is not safe, WRONG!  Many users have been using this inhaler from the time it was placed on the market back in the sixties!  Epinephrine is the key ingredient in Primatene Mist and it is plant based.  Surely with anything, EVEN FOOD or vitamins, if you take too much it can harm you.  Do we need the FDA to tell us how much and what kinds of food to eat?  I would HOPE not!

Dr. Enright has an excellent article on WEB_MD


Here is a portion of an online Petition that you can sign to help make your voice heard.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveCFCinhalers/

The FDA, in compliance with the Montreal Protocol, has banned the use of life-saving CFC propellant asthma inhalers in order to restore the ozone layer, even though it has been acknowledged that these inhalers do not perceptibly harm the ozone layer. We call upon the President and the Congress to take whatever actions are necessary to overturn this ban and continue to make these critical CFC inhalers available to asthma patients who cannot tolerate the new replacement HFA propellant inhalers.

Tremendous progress has been made in reducing CFC emissions in the U.S. to less than 1% of what they were during 1987, our peak year of CFC use. However, in order to eliminate this tiny residual amount of CFC use, millions of patients have recently been forced to use the new HFA inhalers which, for far too many people, are much less safe and effective than the original CFC inhalers.

Find out what you can do to prevent this atrocious attack against asthma sufferers from taking place.  Read up on this topic in the various forums.  Here is one of several:

http://www.topix.com/forum/us/fda/TJ2MSCFLKGNB3PQ5I/p7

Don't Forget to Sign the Online Petition

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveCFCinhalers/


Stay Informed and Let Your Voice be Heard.
In His Love,