Asthma Carbon Footprint ‘As Big As Eating Meat’

Cambridge University researchers say some inhalers are bad for the environment because they release greenhouse gases linked to global warming. They recommend patients with asthma talk to their doctors to see if there’s a “greener” medication they could switch to to help cut their carbon footprint and save the environment. The BBC reports: There are more than five million people with asthma in the UK. The research looked at the environmental impact of different inhaler medications prescribed to patients on the NHS in England. In 2017, about 50 million inhalers were prescribed. Seven out of every 10 of them were metered-dose inhalers – the type that contain greenhouse gases. The gas — hydrofluoroalkane — is used as a propellant to squirt the medicine out of the inhaler. Metered-dose inhalers account for nearly 4% of NHS greenhouse gas emissions, according to experts. The researchers estimate replacing even one in every 10 of these inhalers with a more environmentally friendly type (dry powder inhalers) would reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 58 kilotons. That’s similar to the carbon footprint of 180,000 return car journeys from London to Edinburgh, they say. And at the individual level, each metered-dose inhaler replaced by a dry powder inhaler could save the equivalent of between 150kg and 400kg (63 stone) of carbon dioxide a year – similar to the carbon footprint reduction of cutting meat from your diet.