This morning I was scrolling through Instagram as usual, looking at my kids’ posts.
Up pops an Asthmaandlung campaign.
“Do you use a lower carbon inhaler?
Help us protect the environment by telling us how you found switching inhalers. Have your say to help the NHS reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change “ Forgive me if the wording isn’t quite right, I can’t find it anymore.
I am sick and tired of being made to feel guilty for using an inhaler that works for me.
I care passionately about climate change: I do not fly. I drive less than 1000 miles per annum. I eat very little meat. I am careful about where my food comes from. Etc, etc .
My tiny contribution to global warming is nothing compared to industry, transport and all the other huge polluters.
I also try to offset my carbon footprint by planting nature friendly plants in my garden. Plants that are good for pollinators, making habitats for wildlife etc. I have just spent £150 (money I can ill afford) on trees to replace the ones my neighbours have recently chopped down. Not ornamental trees, but native species.
Then I find myself being made to feel guilty by an organisation that is supposed to be supporting me, although I only have COPD. As a COPD sufferer, my predicament is not discussed or promoted for discussion like Asthma is. In fact it is rarely mentioned.
Is this me being grumpy??! I’m not usually!!
We all want what these lovely photos portray, I just need to use a certain inhaler.
Laurie xx
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leo60
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If the lower carbon inhaler works for you,all well and gd but if not,stay on what u are on.I'm sure cans of deodorant, hairspray & airspray are higher in carbon emissions - it's time aluk & nhs advised against their use
Hi leo60 I agree with every word you say . I dont like the new inhalers and prefer the original one . I use my nebuliser more now, Which in turn is in plastic nebules in a cardbord package, Like you we could go on. No good saving the planet and not the people
What about all the planes and the emissions from them,.. or do they think they are not as bad as a simple inhaler.
I think that if you’re ill and need medical help such as inhalers then who cares about the environment. I can’t believe that all the inhalers will cause our planet to get worse compared to how China etc pollute the air. So long as you have the correct inhaler for your needs, that should be the priority for the NHS
this attitude annoys me so much too. I wonder what percentage of pollution / climate change / environmental damage etc is caused by inhalers compared to all the other forms of pollution. One of the great ironies is that, for many people, their lung condition will have been caused by air pollution that is caused by traffic, flights, factories and other emissions. Obviously we all want to play our part in protecting the environment but to villainise people who use inhalers is just wrong. Maybe it eases the conscience of the big polluters to pick on people who use inhalers. It’s bad enough when the media run uninformed stories, but when it’s an organisation that’s supposed to be on our side, that’s pretty disheartening.
Don’t be fed up, it‘s just a clumsy attempt to make us aware that alternatives are available by people who couldn’t see that getting rid of BLF would be a complete disaster.
My hubby has serious lung problems and we're fed up of all the pressure being applied to everything and everyone to try and reduce carbon emissions. When hubby was prescribed salamol he used twice as many as his ventolin and used his nebuliser more. Dry powder inhalers just aggravate his lungs. Perhaps people like WEF, and other organisations and the elite etc, who support everyone else striving to reduce emissions but continue to use private planes themselves began to use commercial transport it would be a start! Sorry for the gripe but I feel very strongly that it seems the rules are for everyone else but not those making them !
No one can make you feel guilty except you, Leo. Don't worry about what other people or organisations think - you know your inhaler is working for you. Just be clear to yourself about that, at the same time knowing and appreciating that some people do well on dry powder inhalers which is good for the environment. Im luckyj in that dry powder inhalers work well for me, but you can be sure that I think no less of ppl who use the other sort, and if I was you I would be hanging on to the one I know works. Take care
Laurie - Take what you need, don't feel guilty. Yes there is global warming, there as also been ice ages et al - They were not man made. take your inhalers and don't feel guilty at all. There is a vested interest I reckon with Carbon Free Inhalers and IMO they don't puff proper. x
I’m angry too, that our very own charity is making us feel like this. They’re showing very little empathy. I’m very worried about climate change but powder inhalers make my chest worse. I’m sticking to ventolin.
The UK only produces 1% of the world's grrenhouse gases and yet we are preached at from every corner and an attempt is made to make us feel guilty or deprive us of things that we need. These people should look at countries that really produce the problem and leave us alone.
Absolutely. Of course, the UK is on some kind of a guilt trip at the moment and apologising right, left and centre for anything and everything whilst sending money to the big polluters.
I'm with you all the way on this and agree with those who advise you to stay on what works for you. I have yet to use the alternative they gave me when I ordered ventolin. If it doesn't work, they'll hear about it.
There are a lot of people jumping on the environmental bandwagon. A friend of mine complains bitterly about excess packaging, foodwaste and air pollution from petrol cars (they have bought a hybrid). She is welcome to her opinion, but thinks nothing of taking long haul and short haul flights several times a year for holidays which, although lovely, are not actually essential.
Some people, like yourself, and some organisations really try to make a difference but some badmouth others with their 'holier than thou' attitude.
Do what works for you and don't let the b*****s get you down!
Hello Moy I demanded my Ventolin back! Luckily my doctor is understanding.
Yes, it's a terribly fashionable bandwagon to jump on, but it mustn't interfere with the holidays dahling!! Apologies to your friend! For me, this country (in spite of the weather) is so beautiful, I wouldn't go abroad. And our economy need our money!
I try not to feel guilty, but when an organisation that is supposed to be supporting you insinuates that you are harming the environment by using an inhaler you need . . . . well it gets my goat!!
Good luck with the new inhaler Moy and have a lovely Sunday xx
Please stop even thinking about it/ We all do (those who care) do what we can I worry about the environment and recycle all I can. But when a bad flare up happens (COPD and Bronchiectasis) I hardly have the strength to separate rubbish into different categorise and put it all in the one bin which I feel very guilty about, but we can only do what we can. Take care mags
You're not on your own chook. I want ventolin back as I and loads of other people think the little blue one doesn't do the job as good as ventolin. Not too much to ask is it 😬
I wouldn’t worry, I’m like you I do my best in all areas of my life to try and be as green as possible but when it comes to my inhalers I will carryon taking what works. If private jets are exempt of the green levy I’m sure we shouldn’t feel guilty about taking an inhaler that helps our medical condition.
Hi! The thing is, I don't feel guilty, I just get so cross when people try to make me feel guilty, especially as I try so hard to support the environment!
Good morning leo60. They are all hypocrites. They tell us to do everything and then you have them flying here there and everywhere for chin wag about climate change. And usually all come back with no real changes and you got people flying by helicopter to and from instead of using a car or public transport like many of us have to do. We are all entitled to have a grumble. Because I have recently moved and my new doctors have not got my medical records after a week from my old surgery less than an hour away. It took me 3 days to get someone with common sense to get me an inhaler on prescription and then 4 days for the chemist to be get it in. Luckily I am organised and asked about the inhaler when I was down to my last week of meds. Hope your keeping as well as possible. Brian
My Ventolin inhaler says cfc free. I chemist changed my inhaler and it relly didnt work well for me so I asked for it to be switched back. Global warming will happen no matter what we do and think this attempt at jumping on the bandwagon from the nhs is pathetic. Dont feel guilty for protecting your health x
Hello Brian You are so right! Haven't they heard of ZOOM!!
Surely they just ping your records over to the new surgery these days? Very dark ages! I hope you get your prescription soon Brian. Hope you are settling in well xx
Thanks so much love. I got it Friday lunchtime exactly a week after I asked for it. And just got passed from the surgery to the main surgery then they said ring 111. And then they said they wanted identification and then they scanned my features to make sure they matched up. But said it would be 72 hours before they came back to me. So I chased them again Monday morning and eventually got a Lady with a bit of common sense to get things sorted out
I'm 'lucky' that I only have very mild COPD (although sometimes it's called emphysema). I've been prescribed a tiotopium bromide inhaler with small capsules which I insert in an inhaler every morning, pierce and inhale. Ok, so that's a capsule a day and the inhaler itself is fully plastic. The box (cardboard, recyclable) contains a bottle of these capsules plus a new inhaler body every month. I'm putting them all in the recycling and hoping that they'll be dealt with.
Well at least my inhaler/capsule container and cardboard box look recyclable. It's all the tablets and their packaging that I take for my PMR (Polymyalgia Rheumatica) that concern me. I still haven't found anywhere that I can recycle blister packs and, being on: 3 different size steroid tablets to get to current dosage, plus tablets to reduce damage to stomach from steroids, calcium tablets, water retention tablets and some to increase bone density that I'm not allowed to take yet as I've recently had teeth out the number of blister packs can rapidly mount up.
I had a lichen spotting day earlier in the week - I also found this fern with spores.
Agree with every word you say Leo. The world has gone mad. What a totally thoughtless thing to say for a charity which is there to support people with lung conditions, be it asthma or any other lung condition . It is totally necessary to use the inhaler that suits you. They should focus on championing the sufferers and getting the treatment they deserve from the NHS and not minute carbon emissions from the inhalers people use to help them breathe.
Hahaha! They put me on there!! Started when my younger daughter went to Australia, she said that at least I would know she was alive even if she hadn’t been directly in touch!
Now it’s just a means of communicating to me and their friends in one go! I wouldn’t dream of noseying into their lives! I don’t need to anyway, we talk as well! 🤣🤣 xx
I am always amused when you hear the celebrities lecturing us when many own a half a dozen large houses and fly around in a private jet. I’m sure their footprint is likely equal to about 50 or 100 average people. Same as looking at what is coming out of the smokestacks of so many manufacturing plants all over the world and we are supposed to believe that stopping the use of certain inhalers, that in many cases are desperately needed, will make any appreciable difference? I believe in doing your part where you can but to be expected to do without a medication that enables you to breath better is over the top. I don’t think all of the inhalers in the world combined would put out as much in pollutants, or whatever you want to call them, in a year as what comes out of one of the large smokestacks in an hour.
Hi Laurie, I wouldn’t take too much notice of all this carbon footprint stuff. That’s not to say I don’t do my bit regarding recycling but when you think about how we never hear the end of improving our carbon footprint in the U.K., it really doesn’t matter how conscientious you are if the big giants like China and the USA are not really bothering then there seems little point in fretting over it.
I agree about the sh1t that China and the USA spew on a daily basis, it makes using a less environmentally friendly inhaler of little importance. My gripe is that we are made to feel bad about it when it is something we cannot do without. It makes me especially angry as ALUK should be supporting our needs. Xx
Don’t feel guilty Laurie. You’re obviously doing a lot more than most of us to help save the planet. I think they’re completely out of order. We all do our best to get by with these unwanted conditions. I wish you good health. Diane 😊
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Just to say thank you everyone.
Decreasing supplemental oxygen…
Seen my GP who says MART therapy is now used & suggested Fobumix inhaler Any thoughts?
Follow up doctors & Respiratory physio 
Coughing up round balls stickey mucus
