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Tell us your opinions on asthma products

ASTHMA PRODUCT RECALLS
General

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
  • Recalls Search
  • Report Unsafe Products
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Report Adverse Reactions and Medical Product Problems to the FDA 
    
  • Safety Alerts for Drugs, Biologics, Devices, and Dietary Supplements
• Consumer Reports: Product Safety Recalls: search to see whether a product you own has been recalled for free.
  

Specific Asthma Product Recall Notices

• STUDY OF ASTHMA-DRUG HALTED: Serevent (salmeterol xinafoate) Inhalation Aerosol suggests that the drug may be associated with an increased risk of life-threatening asthma episodes or asthma-related deaths, particularly in some patients. (FDA, 1/23/03)
• FDA Alerts U.S. Residents to Recall of Glaxo Smith Kline "Diskus" Asthma Medicines Sold in Canada (FDA/U.S. Food and Drug Administration, November 14, 2003)
• Faulty asthma inhalers recalled (BBC, 11 October, 2002)
• PRODUCT RECALL NOTICE: IMPORTANT WARNING REGARDING DISKUS INHALERS (November 12, 2003)

HUMIDIFIERS

• Dirty Humidifiers May Cause Health Problems, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) safety alert issued (CPSC Document #5046).
• Use and Care of Home Humidifiers: Indoor Air Facts No. 8, Office of Air and Radiation (6607J), Office of Research and Development (MD-56), U.S. EPA (last modified: December 10th, 2003).

RESIDENTIAL AIR CLEANERS

• Consumer Reports
  • Air purifiers: Filtering the claims (December 2007)
    • How to choose: Buying Advice, What's Available
    • Improving your air quality - Air purifiers alone won't clean the air or relieve asthma or allergy symptoms
    • Not Acceptable: Ozone generators
    • Electrostatic precipitator advice
    • Room models
  • A'humidicleaner' (February 2008) - CR's take. In our tests, the Venta-Airwasher was no better at removing dust and smoke than no air cleaner at all. It was efficient at adding moisture to the room but lacks a sensor and controls to let you set a humidity level. Without those, humidity can rise more than desired and contribute to mold and mildew growth. And the device is pricey: $200 for the smallest model (LW-14), plus $90 a year for water additive and cleaning solution.
  • Air cleaners: The truth behind the accolades (October 2007)
    
  • Settlement in Sharper Image Ionic Breeze class action
    
  • Sharper Image pays $525,000 to end lawsuit against Consumer Union
    
• ENERGY STAR Room Air Cleaners (includes Savings Calculator, Manufacturer List, Eligibility Criteria)
  • Room Air Cleaners Product List (Current as of October 3, 2008)
    
  • Room Air Cleaners Key Product Criteria
• Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home (U.S. EPA/OAR/ORIA; Indoor Environments Division, MC-6609j; EPA 402-F-07-018, October 2007)
• Residential Air-Cleaning Devices: A Summary of Available Information, Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) of USEPA, EPA 400/1-90-002 (last modified: August 13th, 2008).
• Ozone Generators That Are Sold As Air Cleaners, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (last modified: August 9, 2007)
  
• Ozone: Good Up High, Bad Nearby, USEPA (June 2003)
• Study Shows Simple Steps can Reduce Dust Mite Allergens in Bedrooms, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS PR #01-19 (August 6, 2001)
  
• Ozone Alerts: Saving your Money - Resist Ozone 'Air Fresheners, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, NIEHS/NIH Publication #99-4671 (scroll to section)