Inhalers produce as much carbon emissions as over 500,000 cars each year, study finds

Inhalers that provide fast-acting treatment for people with certain respiratory conditions are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, which can worsen both climate change and the conditions themselves, according to new research.

In the study, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association , researchers found inhalers approved for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , or COPD, generated an estimated 24.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in the United States from 2014 to 2024. This is equivalent to the emissions of about 530,000 gas-powered cars each year, according to the study.

"Scaled across tens of millions of inhalers dispensed annually, these emissions drive global warming, exacerbating the very respiratory