Switching patients to greener inhalers could be cost effective, study indicates

A study by UK researchers has highlighted the potential financial advantages of using respiratory inhalers that have less global warming impacts than those commonly in use.

Their paper, published in BMJ Open,1 examined the costs of switching to inhalers with a lower potential impact. It provided an economic and a carbon footprint analysis of current NHS prescription data in England.

As The BMJ has previously reported,2 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence already recommends that doctors discuss the best type of asthma inhaler, given the patient’s clinical need and bearing in mind effects on the climate.

Switching …