Four popular asthma drugs are under fire. Asthma sufferers risk death if they continue to use four hugely popular asthma drugs — Advair, Symbicort, Serevent and Foradil – say two federal drug officials. But their views are not universally shared by other government scientists, The New York Times reports. The written assessment of the two officials from the safety division of the Food and Drug Administration, which appeared on the agency’s Web site on Friday, said that asthma sufferers of all ages should no longer take the four treatments. A third drug-safety official said Advair and Symbicort could be used by adults, but none of the four should be used for young people under age 17. Dr. Badrul A. Chowdhury, director of the division of pulmonary and allergy products at the agency, cautioned in his own assessment that the risk of death associated with the drugs was small and that banning their use “would be an extreme approach” that could lead asthmatics to rely on other risky medications. Please consult your doctor if you are using any of the four drugs and have questions.

TAGS: Advair, Asthma Drugs, FDA, Foradil, Serevent, Symbicort

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