# Would DDT and leaded fuel get banned in today's world? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2012, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-ddt-and-leaded-fuel-get-banned-in-todays-world/635584 "2012-09-23T11:19:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-ddt-and-leaded-fuel-get-banned-in-todays-world/635584/21 "2012-09-24T19:41:40Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > If they were invented today, _automobiles_ would be banned, never mind the fuel. > > Let’s see… > > Convenient 🙂 > > Fast 🙂 > > No more arranging your life around train schedules 🙂 > > Lure of the open road 🆒 I nominate this for the Best Use Of Smileys Award for 2012 ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-ddt-and-leaded-fuel-get-banned-in-todays-world/635584/22 "2012-09-24T19:52:22Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > They do have alternative propellants, have done for donkey’s years in the UK. I was under the impression that there weren’t any alternatives; [here is an article on the Primatene ban](http://www.pharmalot.com/2012/07/breathe-deeply-a-comeback-for-primatene-mist/) (“the only OTC asthma inhaler in the U.S.”; maybe there are non-OTC options, but they still shouldn’t have delayed). This also brings up the issue of whether the small amount of CFCs used in inhalers is worth regulating; I’m sure that a single A/C unit used as much CFCs as dozens (hundreds?) of inhalers (according to [Scientific American](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=unlikely-victims-of-banning-cfcs), less than 0.1% of all CFC emissions, it also states that reformulated versions have been around since 1996 - so again, why the delay? Most likely because the government didn’t require it; of course, there is also a patent issue). ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-ddt-and-leaded-fuel-get-banned-in-todays-world/635584/23 "2012-09-24T20:48:41Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > I was under the impression that there weren’t any alternatives; [here is an article on the Primatene ban](http://www.pharmalot.com/2012/07/breathe-deeply-a-comeback-for-primatene-mist/) (“the only OTC asthma inhaler in the U.S.”; maybe there are non-OTC options, but they still shouldn’t have delayed). > > This also brings up the issue of whether the small amount of CFCs used in inhalers is worth regulating; I’m sure that a single A/C unit used as much CFCs as dozens (hundreds?) of inhalers (according to [Scientific American](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=unlikely-victims-of-banning-cfcs), less than 0.1% of all CFC emissions, it also states that reformulated versions have been around since 1996 - so again, why the delay? Most likely because the government didn’t require it; of course, there is also a patent issue). Seems the US is alone in still using adrenaline/epinephrine in inhalers (if that’s the one you’re talking about, I think I remember from another thread). Research seems to have shown that it isn’t as effective as other asthma inhalers and so isn’t available elsewhere, which may be why there’s no non-cfc inhaler as it isn’t commercially viable. I guess the important bit is that it is OTC, which is probably really important for people who don’t have/can’t afford/can’t get insurance, which is not a problem in most other countries. Getting a prescription for an inhaler is invariably cheap and easy in the UK, for instance, you’d pay about $11-12 for one on prescription and there’s no fee to see the doctor. As for the amounts of cfc, you still have to manufacture and store it in bulk for it to be economical, and that has the potential for leaks. Do any chemical manufacturers still produce bulk CFCs? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-ddt-and-leaded-fuel-get-banned-in-todays-world/635584/24 "2012-09-24T23:12:06Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I can’t believe that leaded gas is still allowed in aviation fuel. I would have thought that there would at least be a plan to phase it out by now. The plane fleet turns over much slower than the automobile one, and there isn’t as much aviation fuel burned as automobile fuel. So on one side, leaving the lead in does less damage, and on the other, taking it out requires more money to replace perfectly functional planes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-ddt-and-leaded-fuel-get-banned-in-todays-world/635584.md?page=1)