In the Canary Islands, approximately close to one million pressurized inhalers are consumed per year. These devices are harmless to people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who use them, but pollute as much as 14,285 cars driving for a whole year.
The data has been provided by the College of Physicians of Las Palmas, promoter of the Medical Alliance against Climate Change, a national initiative under the umbrella of the General Council of Colleges of Physicians. The objective is to raise awareness first among doctors and then among patients of the impact of the current health system on climate change and to inform them of the available alternatives.
The College of Physicians recognizes "the decisive contribution of pressurized inhalers to improving life expectancy and increasing the quality of life." However, they indicate that they are very harmful to the atmosphere since they increase the temperature of the planet and enhance climate change. Some of these gases can remain in the troposphere for up to 36 years.
A single container, they explain, contains "as many greenhouse gases as those emitted by a conventional car when traveling 300 km."
“Health is being greatly affected by the increase in global temperature. It is in the hands of doctors to counteract the health consequences,” warned Pedro Cabrera, president of the College of Physicians of Las Palmas.
“Greenhouse gas emissions must be drastically reduced, almost immediately, we are risking a lot,” warns Cabrera. The use of these devices in the Canary Islands is equivalent to more than 24,285 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. At the national level, it is 378,000 tons.
Medical alternatives to pressurized inhalers
“It should come as no surprise if our doctor prescribes the same medication in another, much less polluting presentation, this will be the trend going forward,” Cabrera anticipated.
The College of Physicians of Las Palmas reminds patients who use pressurized inhalers that they cannot be thrown in the trash, since once consumed they still contain greenhouse gases. "They must be delivered to the pharmacy for proper recycling," they explain.
Fortunately, explains Cabrera, "the vast majority of drugs that are sold in pressurized inhaler format can be replaced by the same active ingredient in other non-pressurized formats, which can be called ECO inhalers, such as dry powder (DPI), nebulization or fine mist (SMI)."
"Over 6 years of age, the vast majority of patients are able to use inhalers without propellants. Therefore, the doctor may suggest replacing the pressurized inhaler with another without greenhouse gases. These changes must always be agreed with the patient and for their benefit," explains the college of physicians.
The health system and climate change
The World Health Organization warns that "climate change is the greatest threat to health we face in the coming decades.”
The College of Physicians of Las Palmas explains that health systems are a source of pollution to which due attention is not paid. "The Spanish health system pollutes as much as 3,500,000 cars driving for a year," they exemplify.
"Knowledge of the damage that climate change does to health is an ethical duty of the doctor, who can act from the social and professional sphere," they emphasize. They also recall that the European Respiratory Society already "advises fighting climate change as intensely as fighting tobacco."
