FDA Ban on Primatene Mist Goes Into Effect on January 1st

Posted on December 30, 2011

An FDA ban on Primatene Mist will begin on January 1, 2012. The FDA says the reason the only over-the-counter asthma inhaler sold in the U.S. is being banned is due to a "phase-out of epinephrine inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)."

The FDA says it is banning the inhalers because the United States signed an international agreement, called the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. This agreement requires countries to make it illegal to make or sell substances that decrease the ozone layer, which includes CFCs.

The ban could make it difficult some asthmatics that relied on Primatene Mist.There will no longer be an OTC inhaler available to asthmatics once the ban takes effect. Take a look:


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