New asthma treatment guidelines have been unveiled by the federal government and National Asthma Council which overhaul the way the condition is treated.

New guidelines that seek to change how asthma is treated in Australia have been unveiled by Health Minister Mark Butler and the National Asthma Council of Australia (NAC).

The updated Asthma Australian handbook calls for a shift away from the reliever or blue inhalers, which are used to relieve asthma symptoms in the event of an attack.

Under the new guidelines, health professionals are being urged to shift towards inhalers that combine anti-inflammatory medication with a reliever effect.

Around 474 people died from asthma related illnesses in Australia in 2023.

The new guidelines say that using three or more blue puffers per year is linked to a higher risk of a severe asthma attack, while relying on 12 or more increases the risk of death.

Professor Debbie Rigby, clinical executive le