Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 2 December 2019 – Boehringer Ingelheim announced the launch of the Respimat® reusable inhaler in Ireland, which could lead to over 112,500 fewer inhalers being disposed of each year.[i] The first soft mist, reusable inhaler is now available for use with up to six refill cartridges, no longer disposed of and replaced each time the medication runs out. Respimat® has always been propellant-free but by using the reusable inhaler with six refill cartridges (rather than six of the previous disposable inhalers with one cartridge each), the product carbon footprint is reduced by 71%.[ii] Respimat® reusable delivers the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) medications tiotropium/olodaterol (Spiolto®▼), olodaterol (Striverdi®▼) and tiotropium (Spiriva®),[iv],[v],[vi] as well as the asthma medication tiotropium (Spiriva®).
Asthma and COPD affect over 490,000 people in Ireland[vii],[viii] and chronic lower respiratory disease, which includes COPD and asthma, is the fourth most common cause of death.[ix] Nurses and pharmacists are likely to see people with COPD and asthma more regularly than a GP or specialist, so they play a pivotal role in educating patients on their medicines and inhaler technique, whether this is part of routine practice or a specialist commissioned pharmacy-based inhaler technique check service.[x],[xi]
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