Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to cease the prescription of dry powder inhalers in England apart from in exceptional circumstances; and if so, when.

It is the intention of the National Health Service, as set out in its Long Term Plan commitment, to reduce the use of traditional inhalers with higher levels of fluorinated gases. There are devices available which use significantly less fluorinated gases and dry powder devices, which do not use fluorinated gases, unlike traditional metered dose devices.

This year, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has published a Patient Decision Aid to help people with asthma, alongside health professionals, to identify which inhalers could meet their needs and control their symptoms. Where several inhalers could be viable options, the decision aid helps clinicians and patients choose the more environmentally friendly option, with a lower carbon footprint. The British Thoracic Society have included device carbon impacts in their recently published asthma guidelines.