The War On Citizens Getting The Medication They Need To Remain Alive And Breathing
Commenter MonicaP sent me this letter about a really disturbing recent experience she and her husband endured -- and luckily he did endure, but no thanks to the government:
I thought you might find my husband's recent experience trying to get Primatene Mist interesting. Primatene Mist was taken off the shelves as of Dec. 30, supposedly because it contains CFCs. The fact that the inhalers and pills were moved behind the counter several years ago because of meth fears has something to do with it, I suspect.My husband was watching a football game with a friend when he began to have an asthma attack. His friend was watching his three small children that night, so my husband drove to CVS to get some Primatene Mist, not knowing at the time that it was no longer for sale. The pharmacy had it in stock, behind the counter, but couldn't sell it to him, and they didn't have any pills in stock. They suggested he go to another CVS and see whether they had the pills in stock. So a guy who was having clear problems taking in enough oxygen was forced to drive to another store (Walgreens, ultimately) to get the pills. Then they had him show ID and sign a form promising he wouldn't alter the drug before they would sell it to him.
My husband was lucky his asthma attack was relatively minor and that the pills he eventually got worked almost as quickly as the inhaler. Had the asthma attack gotten more serious while he drove around town, he would have been in trouble. Or he might have been forced to go to the ER when he could have easily treated himself at home. And now countless people are going to have to pay out of pocket or have their insurance charged for doctors visits for something that used to be as easy to get as aspirin and condoms.
We'e so afraid of people getting high that we're willing to let people die to prevent it. The CFC issue seems like a cop-out. I understand outlawing trivial uses, like in hairspray, but I'd think we could make an exception for something that saves people's lives.
MonicaP
If we decide to believe the government's story, it seems we'd rather protect the ozone from what has to be the minimal incursion of CFC's from asthma inhalers than let people keep breathing. From the FDA:
Why No More Primatene Mist? Primatene Mist inhalers use CFCs, which decrease the earth's ozone layer. This layer of the atmosphere protects us from some of the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, which can increase the risk of skin cancers and cataracts. The United States and many other countries have signed an international agreement to phase out CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances.
Ahron Sherman writes at The Daily Miner:
According to the Food and Drug Administration, discussion to phase-out CFC-based epinephrine inhalers started in 2006, and the FDA decided that Primatene Mist did not serve an essential health need.
Really? Tell that to MonicaP and her husband.
Sherman continues:
Manufacturers have been changing their inhalers to replace CFCs with an ozone-friendly propellant called hydrofluoroalkane, according to the FDA. The problem is that these types of inhalers are not available without a prescription, cost more and work differently.Doctor Sam Ahn of the Asthma Allergy Clinic of Phoenix said the transition from CFC inhalers to HFA inhalers has been relatively smooth, despite the inconvenience felt by some.
The HFA inhalers are more expensive, he said.
Whereas Primatene Mist inhalers run for about $20 a pop, HFA inhalers containing albuterol can cost as much as $60 each.
The HFA inhalers have a lighter velocity spray than the CFC-based ones, Ahn explained. This causes many of his patients to think they are not getting enough of the medication. Despite the weaker spray, both types of inhalers administer the same dosage of medication, Ahn said.
Another consequence of the soft spray is that the HFA inhalers need to be cleaned every one or two weeks, Ahn said. This wasn't the case with CFC inhalers because the spray was forceful enough to basically clean the apparatus itself. People who have made the transition between inhalers tend to forget to clean them, which does alter the dosage, Ahn said.
"Overall, it hasn't been a bad transition," Ahn said.
Again, tell that to MonicaP and her husband.
Best wishes to blogsisters MonicaP, LauraGr, Ppen and Flynne, who've each faced difficult times with family in recent months.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at January 14, 2012 12:32 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/01/14/the_war_on_citi.html#comment-2914972">comment from Crid [CridComment at gmail]Yes -- and to JosephineMO7
Amy Alkon at January 14, 2012 12:43 AM
...these types of inhalers are not available without a prescription, cost more and work differently.
If it's the same medicine as was in an OTC inhaler, why does it now require a prescription?
Cost more...obviously if it's replacing something people need and can't get anymore, it costs more. Pennies more to make, dollars more to buy. Because screw you is why.
Work differently I get, as the more 'earth-friendly' propellant is less efficient (and more expensive). Funny how that always seems to be the case.
P.S. some people drive to work in trucks (with pirates).
DrCos at January 14, 2012 5:28 AM
Thanks, guys.
In the end, he was fine, and for that we're both relieved. But I wonder how many people are going to find themselves with larger medical bills over this.
In the meantime, I'd suggest anyone who needs an inhaler get a prescription from a doctor now, and find out whether the medication in pill form works for you.
MonicaP at January 14, 2012 5:45 AM
This is the kind of crap we get when people such as the World's Most Irresponsible Man (Al Gore, Jr.) wails and moans about such things as the ozone layer.
mpetrie98 at January 14, 2012 7:06 AM
Oops. Subject-verb agreement fell through on that last one.
mpetrie98 at January 14, 2012 7:07 AM
Another example is Ultralente, a long acting OTC insulin that is no longer being made. You can still get NPH which is peaky and has a tendancy to give people lows in the middle of the night (dead in bed syndrome.) The only other alternative is to get a prescription for one of the much more expensive, long acting, prescription required, insulin analogues.
The drug companies stopped making Ultralente so they could drive people to their new, artificial products that sometimes cause hypoglycemia unawareness because the artificial nature acts differently on the brain than the real thing.
nonegiven at January 14, 2012 9:37 AM
Thank you cridmeister. Heart you big time. And you, too Amy, and Ppen, MonicaP, LauraGr, and JosephineMO7. Coming here helps a lot, especially when things get too hairy and I need to step back from the situation. (Dad is doing a little better, he's not had any alcohol in 2 months now, but he's still smoking up a storm. I wish we could get him to quit, but if this is his only vice left at the age of 80, what the hell? He's got emphysema and his lung capacity is about 64%, but no cancer. Go figure!)
Flynne at January 14, 2012 9:40 AM
It's a ridiculous situation that the government has put us in. I have extremely minor asthma that crops up only every few years, so the OTC option was a great one for me. Now I have to go to the doctor and get a prescription, which is kind of a pain, but thank goodness I have insurance. If I didn't it would be more than just an inconvenience. But the reason it's a necessity is that anyone who has had asthma every in the past, no matter how remote, needs to have an inhaler on hand. I learned this the hard way and it's true that people these days still can die from asthma attacks if they don't have medication on hand.
Melissa at January 14, 2012 11:47 AM
"But I wonder how many people are going to find themselves with larger medical bills over this."
We all are. Even if you don't use any of the meds that Big Brother is manipulating the supply of. Thanks to the nannystate knee jerk reaction to everything, we now have the Obamacare nightmare that will pass the increased costs directly to the taxpayers who are forced to purchase the insurance. Those who supply medical services and big pharma are going to be for all intents and purposes, government employees.
That will help efficiency. It has in every other area the government has inserted itself, right?
Savant-Idiot at January 14, 2012 5:07 PM
Think about this one. Some years ago I had a prescription for fluticasone propionate, aka Flovent (inhaled steroid for asthma). The drug was still under patent and therefore expensive ($1/dose best price, 2 to 4 doses a day). Just as the patent on the drug was about to expire, which should have dropped the price, CFC-based canisters for this drug were banned for all the given reasons. The manufacturers designed a new canister for the new propellent, and patented it, effectively extending their monopoly on the drug for another 15 years or so. Instead of falling, the price rose to $1.50/dose.
What's curious is that this happened a good few years back, just as the patent expired. Now, so many years on, other drugs are falling under the hammer. If CFCs really are the problem, why weren't those other CFC-driven drug canisters also banned at the same time, rather than now?
BobC at January 14, 2012 7:00 PM
DrCos... Primatine, and Broncaide are not Albuterol inhalers, the drug is different. The reason they allowed Prima to continue selling, is that now is the hard date... They knew that they couldna make the drug work CFC free, so they sold till the end. The reformulated albuterol doesn't work as well IMHO even if you keep the mouthpiece clean...
But, as with many things, the people making such decisions don't have, and never ask people who do... To see how they are affected.
On the upside, albuterol doesn't taste NEARLY as bad as primatine.
You know the downside(s)
SwissArmyD at January 14, 2012 10:33 PM
Wow, I had no idea that so many of our peeps here were having problems. My sympathies to you all.
There is so much irrational nanny-statism and Gaiaism going on here it's making my head hurt. And pretty soon, I won't be able to get an aspirin for that, because this is more evidence for something I've been talking about, which is the campaign to eliminate OTC drugs. After all, ordinary Americans can't be trusted to make their own health decisions... that should be left to experts! Right?
Anyway... I suspect that part of the problem with the CFC-bearing inhalers is that the drug makers can't get a supply of the propellant any more. I recall back when the Montreal Protocol was signed, that everyone was assured that there would be exceptions for essential uses. Well, surprise surprise, the government and the "experts" lied to us. Not for the first time, and not for the last. I am well aware of the medical CFC issue because over the years I've had occasional need of nasal steroids for inflammation. The old CFC-based dispensers were replaced with pump sprayers, which don't get the stuff up into the sinuses where it's needed most.
Another case: Halon, which was used for fighting fires in and around electrical equipment. Not only did computer rooms have it, but aircraft depended on it heavily. I can't help but wonder how many aircraft crashes due to onboard fires might have been prevented if Halon extinguishers were still available. There's no good answer for spacecraft either, and for years NASA had a hoard of Halon bottles that they moved back and forth between Shuttles and payload modules. Unfortunately, they lost most of them in the Columbia accident. You can't fight a fire onboard a spacecraft with CO2 or water.
Cousin Dave at January 15, 2012 8:17 AM
"I can't help but wonder how many aircraft crashes due to onboard fires might have been prevented if Halon extinguishers were still available. There's no good answer for spacecraft either, and for years NASA had a hoard of Halon bottles that they moved back and forth between Shuttles and payload modules. Unfortunately, they lost most of them in the Columbia accident. You can't fight a fire onboard a spacecraft with CO2 or water."
As you know, most aircraft provide no access to portable fire-suppression equipment for use on systems (the crew can't reach the component ablaze) and rely on fixed installations. These are provided on commercial aircraft. If your laptop battery flares up, you'll get shot with something by the flight attendant.
For the actual data on commercial air incidents, see the Jet Aircraft Crash Data Evaluation Center site, here.
Fire suppression on the Shuttle might not be what you think. This is not because Halon™ can't be bought - after all, Columbia just lost 3 fixed and 3 portable bottles. I'm betting, given the minor expense, that if bottle transfer between airframes was done, it was because it was just easier to move items already certified for flight on the Shuttle.
You can buy these for the home in the USA.
Radwaste at January 16, 2012 3:28 PM
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