“Republicans are expected to call up H.R. 6190, the Asthma Inhalers Relief Act, on Tuesday. The bill would allow the sale of about 1 million remaining Primatene Mist inhalers, despite a ban on the sale of this product since the end of 2011,” The Hill reports.
“Primatene Mist had been used by asthma sufferers for decades, but it was banned under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and also the Clean Air Act…The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill by voice vote in August and said passage would allow the remaining 1 million inhalers to be sold.”
Since House rules must be suspended to bring up the bill, a two-thirds majority is needed to pass.
According to the Asthma and Allergy foundation asthma accounts for one-quarter of all emergency room visits in the U.S. each year, with 1.75 million emergency room visits.
There are more than 3,300 deaths due to asthma each year and asthma is indicated as “contributing factor” for nearly 7,000 other deaths each year. Environmentalists still banned inhalers to treat attacks.
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