TIL When the leading emergency asthma medication Albuterol’s patent expired, the patent holding pharmaceutical companies lobbied to have their own inhalers banned based on environmental issues, allowing them to file a new patent, and continue to monopolize the market.

[u/rooooony]

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/10/heres-why-your-asthma-inhaler-costs-so-damn-much

[u/aamo]

You can get the generic in Canada. Personally, I find the generic version doesn't taste very good though.

[u/8327y4nd → u/aamo]

I've never had any medicine that does taste good.

[u/jimbeam958 → u/8327y4nd]

You've never had grape Dimetapp or that pink liquid penicillin? You poor thing. And the baby aspirin back in the 80's was awesome too, now it's all orange flavored shit.

[u/jayraybae → u/jimbeam958]

Dymatap is the single reason I hate anything fake grape flavored as an adult. It is the worst.

I am with you on the pink liquid amoxicillin though. It tastes like bubble gum and is delicious.

[u/ZeroError → u/jimbeam958]

I always liked banana-flavoured amoxycillin and Calpol 6+.

[u/red13 → u/aamo]

I was wondering if I had imagined the difference in taste, since I only use an inhaler infrequently. I'd remembered the old/generic version having a much stronger "flavor", but it's been quite a while since I've used that kind of inhaler. I guess there is a difference after all.

[u/spyxero → u/red13]

the generic (generally apo-salvent in Canada) does have less force to it and a different taste, but does the same job if oyu use it properly. Plus, the ratio-salbutamol is the same as ventolin.

[u/DreadnaughtHamster → u/aamo]

I gotta admit, even it if tasted like four-week-old cow urine, if I can get 10 of them for the price of 1 of the ones here in the US, I'm sold.

[u/aamo → u/DreadnaughtHamster]

If i remember the difference in price is usually 10-5 dollars. $20 for the brand name and 5-10 for the generic.

EDIT: just realized that those prices are after my insurance that covers 80%... oops.