I’m actually surprised this NPR piece didn’t go into detail on how hotcoldwetdry is making asthma worse
Could better asthma inhalers help patients, and the planet too?
During an asthma check-up at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Joel Rubinstein gets a surprising pitch — for the planet, as well as his health.
His pulmonologist, Dr. Miguel Divo, explains that the familiar boot-shaped respiratory inhalers, which represent nearly 90% of the U.S. market for asthma medication, save lives but also contribute to climate change.
Each puff from that type of inhaler releases a hydrofluorocarbon gas that is 1,430 to 3,000 times as powerful as the most commonly known greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
“That absolutely never occurred to me,” says Rubinstein, a retired psychiatrist. “Especially, I mean, these are little, teeny things.”
Divo has begun offering a more eco-friendly option to some patients with asthma and other lung diseases: a handheld plastic disk about the size and shape of a hockey puck that contains powdered medicine. Patients suck the powder into their lungs — no puff of gas required, and no greenhouse gas emissions.
I’m doubting most asthma sufferers care: they just want to fix the issue now. And, I swear, if my doctor brought something like this up in terms of my allergy meds or anything else, I’d be switching doctors. And wondering what company is paying them to push this doomsday cult claptrap
Rubinstein is one of a small number of U.S. patients who have made the transition. Among Divo’s patients, only about a quarter would even consider switching.
The reasons vary, Divo explains. Dry powder inhalers are often more expensive than gas propellant inhalers. For some, dry powder isn’t a good option because not all asthma or COPD sufferers can get their medications in this form. And dry powder inhalers aren’t recommended for young children or elderly patients with diminished lung strength.
Yeah, cost. Obama era regulations have already forced a change from chlorofluorocarbon type to the hydrofluorocarbon type, which is more expensive, and now want asthmatics to pay more. This is not the first post I’ve done over the years about the climate cult whining about inhalers
Changing inhaler technology largely voluntary, not mandatory
For now. But, as Government passes regulations it essentially becomes mandatory, because you cannot get the old types except, possibly, in extreme cases for heavy sufferers.
When inhaler costs went up, physicians say, patients cut back on puffs and suffered more asthma attacks. Gregg Furie, medical director for climate and sustainability at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, worries that’s about to happen again.
“While these new propellants are potentially a real positive development, there’s also a significant risk that we’re going to see patients and payers face significant cost hikes,” Furie says.
These cultists care more about their scam than actual humans.
Read: You Asthma Sufferers Need To Stop Using Your World Killing Inhalers »
More Americans say they trust former President Trump on the economy and inflation than they do President Biden, a new poll found.
Your typical morning cup of coffee is a social and environmental disaster—but you’ll soon have the option to start sipping something less harmful: synthetic coffee.
A number of residents on Chicago’s South Side voiced objections to a proposal put forth by Mayor Brandon Johnson seeking to open a temporary migrant shelter in the neighborhood.
An encampment launched by Students of Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of California Santa Cruz has issued starkly antisemitic demands that include the university severing ties with Jewish community organizations.
Five years after setting some of the most ambitious climate targets in the nation, Ithaca, N.Y., is hoping to set a new standard. The city council unanimously voted this week to require that half the funding spent on its energy transition and on major infrastructure investments go toward those residents most at risk from climate change. (snip)
