[Reducing the environmental impact of inhalers dispensed in France. From diagnosis to sustainable action]. / Réduire l'impact environnemental des inhalateurs dispensés en ville et à l'hôpital en France. Du diagnostic à l'action durable.

OBJECTIVES: While inhaled drugs are mainly used to treat chronic respiratory diseases, they are also responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. To highlight this issue, a dispensed analysis and a carbon footprint evaluation of inhalers in France have been conducted. METHODS: A national qualitative and quantitative analysis of dispensed inhalers in community pharmacies (CP) and hospitals (H) was conducted in France for 2019. A data review from the literature led to the determination of the inhalers carbon footprint, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) during the inhaler life cycle. RESULTS: Close to 40 million inhalers were dispensed by community pharmacies and one million by hospitals in 2019. It concerned three types of inhalers: metered-dose inhalers (MDI) [CP: 49%; H: 45%], dry powder inhalers (DPI) [CP: 47%; H: 51%], and soft mist inhalers (SMI) [CP: 4%; H: 4%]. According to the literature, MDI have the highest carbon footprint, ranging from 11 to 28 kgCO2e versus less than 1 kgCO2e for DPI/SMI. In 2019, the national carbon footprint of salbutamol (MDI), the most dispensed inhaler, was estimated to be over 310 million kgCO2e (CP+H) corresponding to more than 310,000 round-trip Paris-New York. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the involvement of MDI in GHG emissions. Taking actions as part of a global and coordinated approach to limit their environmental impact is possible and thus is a priority.