Action Alert

Please consider signing and sharing the Greater Boston PSR open letterto AstraZeneca asking the company to bring Symbicort Turbuhaler to the U.S. market. Signatures can be submitted through this form and both individuals and organizations can sign on. Sign by July 29^th.

This dry powder form of Symbicort (budesonide-formoterol) is the formulation used in many of the asthma trials, and is readily available in Canada, UK, much of Europe, China, and other Asian countries – but not the U.S. 

As background, the propellants in pressurized metered dose inhalers (MDIs) are potent greenhouse gases that are responsible for roughly 4% of the National Health System's greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020, the greenhouse gas emissions from metered dose inhaler use in the US were the equivalent of driving 500,000 cars for a year. Switching from pressurized MDIs to dry powder inhalers, when appropriate, can significantly reduce these emissions. The specific propellant in Symbicort MDI (HFA 227ea) has 3,350 times the global warming potential over 100 years as compared to that of CO2.  It is critical that patients, in the U.S., have access to low emissions dry powder inhalers like Symbicort Turbuhaler, especially as budesonide-formoterol is an important tool included in global and national asthma management guidelines.

Sign on Here

What We Are Reading & Listening to This Week

• Climate change, air pollution, and maternal and newborn health: An overview of reviews of health outcomes (Journal of Global Health)
• A new federal rule could offer protection from extreme heat to millions of workers (NPR)
• Extreme Heat Risks for Children (Climate Central)
• Mother of Dragons (Green Docs Podcast)
• In sunny AZ, a relocated gas plant ignites questions over who profits and who pays (AZ Central)
• Childhood Exposure to Air Pollution May Trigger Bronchitis Years Later (Health Day)
• The Dirty Truth About Scented Candles (MedPage Today)
• Surface temperatures prove deadly under the AZ sun (Arizona Republic)
• A judge sides with states over Biden and allows gas export projects to move forward (NPR)

Join Us

July 9^th: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm AzNA Climate Change & Health Workgroup June. Zoom Link

July 11^th: 12:00 pm (AZ)  ANHE Policy & Advocacy Forum: The Lead & Copper Rule: Opportunities for Nursing Action Register

September 10^th: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Arizona Health Professionals for Climate Action Annual Virtual Summit Zoom Link

Thank you for joining us in making a healthier planet today!