The Obama Administration should revisit the banning of generic, inexpensive inhalers. Asthma sufferers, the very population most affected by air pollution, is unfairly bearing the brunt of this environmental regulation. As a recent NYTimes piece reports (nyti.ms/19B4mRg), this is an example of regulatory capture.
Banning the old CFC inhalers has allowed a new generation of patents and extortion. There should either be an exception for life-saving inhalers to the CFC rule or the patents should be challenged/limited in duration. This is tantamount to charging the victims of an environmental accident for the cleanup costs. As we all benefit from the elimination of CFCs we need to share those costs.



