The Breathe Green Project
My name is Heather and I am covering Jazzmine Squire as communications officer here at Okehampton Medical Centre. Many of my interests revolve around environmentalism and reducing human impact on the Earth so it is a good opportunity to introduce the Breathe Green Project.
They are a group of volunteer healthcare professionals committed to actions that drive change towards a green, carbon neutral NHS, focusing on switching high carbon footprint pressurised metered dose inhalers (MDIs) to low carbon emission dry powder inhalers (DPIs).
Pressurised metered dose inhalers make up 70% of inhalers prescribed in the UK. These typically have a metal canister which you push down into a plastic case to release a puff of medicine into your lungs while you breathe in.
Their main ingredient is a hydrofluorocarbon gas, which helps deliver the medicine into your lungs. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are powerful greenhouse gases – although they don’t damage the ozone layer, they are far more powerful than carbon dioxide.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used to be used in metered dose inhalers. These were banned after we realised the significant impact they were having on the ozone layer. CFCs are also potent greenhouse gases, and climate change would be far worse today if we hadn’t acted promptly and banned their use.
A MDI that is used very commonly in the UK, the Ventolin Evohaler™ has a carbon footprint of 28kg per inhaler. That’s the same carbon footprint as the tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions of driving 175miles in a small car! Dry powder inhalers on the other hand typically have a carbon footprint of less than 1kg.
Aside from having a lower carbon footprint, DPIs usually have dose-counters, so you know how many doses are left and don’t mistakenly use an empty inhaler or throw away a full one. A minority of patients and some young children are unable to use dry powder inhalers, but most patients actually prefer powder inhalers as they are easier to use as they require less coordination than a metered-dose (spray) inhaler.
However, if you do need an inhaler containing greenhouse gases please don’t feel guilty – everyone has a carbon footprint. There are still things you can do to reduce the carbon footprint of your inhalers (like working out the number of doses in a canister, reducing the chance they will be thrown away or recycled too early) and the pharmaceutical industry is working hard to develop new propellants with a much smaller carbon footprint.
If this has interested you and you’d like to switch to a dry-powder inhaler, contact your GP practice (and speak to a long-term condition nurse or a pharmacist) about the possible options, and ensure you have your inhaler technique checked to confirm you can use the new inhaler properly.
If you’d like to find out more, please visit https://greeninhaler.org/ or https://www.breathegreenproject.com/
By Heather Atouguia, Okehampton Medical Centre