# primatene mist **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105 "2017-11-29T23:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mr\_horsepower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@mr\_horsepower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_horsepower)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/1 "2017-11-29T23:31:24Z")
primatene mist - a rescue inhaler for asthma. for years now it hasn’t been legal to produce because of the CFC it used as a propellant was deemed harmful to the ozone layer. that’s the entire given reason, there were no problems with the medicine (epinephrine). Trump, being a climate change dernier, along with Scott Pruitt, are both working towards the deregulation of the epa. I’m convinced the impact of this deregulation can/ will have long lasting negative impacts on the planet (not the discussion here), but one short term positive impact could be there wouldn’t be the CFC obstacle regarding manufacturing these inhalers anymore (my thinking is they’re pretty low on the totem pole of gross polluters). so, if that happens, what are the chances that primatene mist can/ will be produced again? is it possible, or is the money made from the lesser effective alternatives now offered, not over the counter, going to be the driver behind a massive a roadblock that will be created (like i think will be the case)? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/2 "2017-11-30T00:19:39Z")
I’d wager that if it were that much better of a treatment, they’d find some other way to deliver it. It would have to be a nigh-miraculous cure for some company to start using ozone-depleting CFC’s if it became legal to make it that way. The media circus alone and hordes of protestors out front would cut into any profit they might make. Simpler just to find a better way to delivery the medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/3 "2017-11-30T00:33:51Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’d wager that if it were that much better of a treatment, they’d find some other way to deliver it. It’s more profitable to sell prescription inhalers. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/4 "2017-11-30T00:39:42Z")
Other inhaled medicines have eliminated CFC’s and are using HFA instead. (I’m not sure exactly what that is.) I have several inhalers with various meds — ventolin (albuterol) and others — they all use HFA now. Many patients have argued that HFA inhalers are less effective for some reason. Is there some reason Primatene isn’t made, or can’t be made, using HFA instead of CFC? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/5 "2017-11-30T00:48:35Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Other inhaled medicines have eliminated CFC’s and are using HFA instead. (I’m not sure exactly what that is.) I have several inhalers with various meds — ventolin (albuterol) and others — they all use HFA now. Many patients have argued that HFA inhalers are less effective for some reason. > > Is there some reason Primatene isn’t made, or can’t be made, using HFA instead of CFC? Primatene pills had ephedrine in them, which is heavily controlled now. It can’t be in diet supplements, and while I think it can still be in OTC sinus meds, I think they have to be behind the counter. I used to use Primatene for allergies, when Benadryl just wasn’t cutting it. I rarely had an allergy attack so severe I needed Primatene, but when I did, I did. The same medicine was in Bronkaid. I also took it when I got a lingering bronchial cough after a sinus infection. The pills were all I ever took, and now they are very hard to find, but I have better meds by Rx from my doctor. There didn’t used to be better meds out there. Now, I never bought the inhalers, but I assumed they had ephedrine in them as well. They didn’t? or was it taken out recently? ---
**Author:** ![mr\_horsepower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@mr\_horsepower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_horsepower)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/6 "2017-11-30T01:14:38Z")
the inhalers had epinephrine, not ephedrine, in them. i never tried the pills when they were available. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/7 "2017-11-30T02:50:11Z")
My doctor told me Primatene Mist could give you a heart attack. I still say that Primatene inhalers were taken off the market because big pharma doesn’t think I should be paying a paltry nineteen dollars a month to breathe when I could be paying two hundred. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primatene-mist/803105/8 "2017-11-30T02:55:24Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I still say that Primatene inhalers were taken off the market because big pharma doesn’t think I should be paying a paltry nineteen dollars a month to breathe when I could be paying two hundred. See post #3. 😉