Metered Dose Inhalers Will Be Changing-
What You Need to Know

Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) are devices that release a pre-measured amount of medication into the air. To make the inhaler work right, a propellant is added to the medication. For most MDIs, the propellant is one or more gases called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). 

MDIs that contain CFCs are expected to be replaced by new inhaler devices that do not contain CFCs (non-CFC inhalers) over the next few years. This change has just begun and will go on over the next few years as more non-CFC options are developed. 

Why change?

Although CFCs in medicines are safe for people to inhale, CFCs are harmful to the environment. Scientists have found that when CFCs get into the upper parts of the earth’s atmosphere, they cut down the amount of ozone in the ozone layer that is all around the earth, and protect it from the sun’s harmful rays. To lower the risk of health and environmental problems caused by less ozone, and to help bring back the ozone layer, most countries have agreed to stop using CFCs.  Because of this agreement, the companies that make other products that have used CFCs, such as air conditioners, have already stopped using them. Because CFC MDIs are so important for treating asthma, CFCs for use in MDIs will not be stopped until safe and effective replacements are available. The goal is to one day replace all CFC MDIs with ways to deliver medications that do not use CFCs.

 
How are the changes happening?

Many professional, public and private groups are working to make sure that medicines are available for people with asthma to control their asthma during the change from CFC to non-CFC inhalers.

• The companies that make medications have been working very hard to develop non-CFC MDIs. Companies around the world are testing inhalers using new propellants instead of CFCs. These new propellants have been shown to be just as safe for people as CFCs.
• Non-CFC options without propellants are being developed, including dry-powder inhalers, mini-nebulizers, and other devices.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working together to make sure that CFC MDIs stay available until safe and effective replacements are ready.
• The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), together with the International Pharmaceutical Aerosol Consortium, are putting together information that will teach people about the change to non-CFC inhalers.

How will the new inhalers be different from the CFC MDIs?

There may be some differences in how CFC and non-CFC MDIs work, look, taste, or feel. Many new products will be produced and approved over time. As with any change in treatment, it will be important to talk with your doctor, pharmacist or asthma coordinator when you get a new inhaler, to make sure you know the right way to use it.

Click here for a one page summary of the MDI switch from CFCs to HFAs.

Adapted from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, National Institutes of Health brochure:  Your Metered-Dose Inhaler Will Be Changing...Here Are The Facts