
Researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Stanford University in Stanford, California, and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom are taking a deep dive into the impact respiratory inhalers have on the environment. Inhaled medicine is commonly prescribed for the treatment of asthma and COPD.
The study, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Costs of Inhaler Devices in the U.S.,” which was published in JAMA, examined 2022 Medicare and Medicaid claims to assess the greenhouse gas emissions of propellant-based inhalers versus propellant-free devices. Alexander Rabin, MD, clinical assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, said sometimes the climate suffers at the hands of scientific progress.
“I’m hopeful that this work will spur further discussion about the importance of reducing the global warming effect of inhaled medications. But more broadly, I think our work speaks to necessary trade-offs in health care, weighing clinical efficacy and cost against environmental impact," Dr. Rabin said.
Through the study, researchers discovered that metered-dose, propellant-containing inhalers, such as the prescription asthma drug Dulera, account for 70% of inhaler claims and 98.3% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
By contrast, dry powder inhalers and soft mist inhalers account for just 1.48% of emissions. However, propellant-free inhalers are generally more expensive, according to the study’s authors, accounting for nearly two-thirds of inhaler costs but only one-third of claims.
Altogether, inhaler prescriptions filled by patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid in 2022 resulted in the emissions equivalent to electricity use in 226,960 homes each year.