Inhaler-Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the US

What are the magnitude, sources, and social costs of inhaler-related greenhouse gas emissions in the US?Inhalers approved for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease generated an estimated 24.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in the US from 2014 to 2024, 98% of which were from metered-dose inhalers. The estimated social costs of emissions were $5.7 billion (lower bound, $3.5 billion; upper bound, $10.0 billion).Efforts to shift prescribing toward lower-emission inhalers may help reduce the climate impact of managing chronic respiratory disease.

Corresponding Author: William B. Feldman, MD, DPhil, MPH, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 200 Medical Plaza, Ste 365, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (wfeldman@mednet.ucla.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.