rant alert: asthma

Today I learned that most albuterol inhalers use CFCs as propellants, and by 2009 they'll have switched to something that doesn't deplete the ozone layer. To start preparing for the switch, companies are cutting back on CFC inhaler production, causing a shortage of inhalers. I suppose that'll drive the cost up so that people won't get such bad sticker shock when they have to buy the new, more expensive inhalers.

In other news, doctors are trying a new way to treat hard-to-control asthma that involves disintegrating the muscles that contract. They don't offer it as a cure, and they don't know the long-term effects.

They can do that for mold-induced tachycardia, too; they offer to kill part of your heart, when all you need to do is stay out of the mold. I actually had gut surgery for mold-induced acid reflux so severe I would sometimes stay home from work. It helped, but I still had to take drugs and sleep tilted, and it was uncomfortable. Now I can't go to work at all, and I don't have any acid reflux. Staying out of mold and chemicals has improved my health dramatically.

So now we're going to read about asthma triggers in a brochure handed out by a children's hospital in Seattle. Read down past the list of triggers, which include perfume, car exhaust, and smoke, to the part under Why is it good to know my asthma triggers? (!!), where you will find the quote of the day:

You can leave the room if someone's perfume is too strong. If your parents smoke cigarettes, it's best if they only smoke outside.

Here's my big question, and I'm oversimplifying, but still: why is getting your bronchial muscles fried considered a reasonable solution when we could just make possession of perfume or cologne a felony?