Last month, the Food and Drug Administration announced it was following through on its 2008 regulation to phase out all over-the-counter (OTC) chlorofluorocarbin-using inhalers by December 31st 2010. Today, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., filed an amendment that would stop the FDA from finalizing that ban. DeMint intends to force a vote on the amendment this week.
According to the FDA, the estimated 3 million Americans who use these inhalers may switch to less-effective remedies when the ban is fully implemented. The FDA also estimates that national health spending will increase due to the ban, thanks largely to an increase in ER visits by asthma sufferers.
“The Obama administration is trampling over the health concerns of millions of Americans who rely on over-the-counter inhalers in a misguided effort that will have a negligible effect on CFC emissions. Banning these inhalers won’t bring about ‘the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal’ but it will have very real health and financial consequences for Americans who depend on these inhalers to breathe properly,” DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton told The Examiner.
