Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill 2005 celebrated successes – and the people who made them happen. It also brought to light a new issue that Congress, patients and medical care providers need to know about.

Exposing Unapproved and Unproven Therapies
Increasingly, without patient and prescriber knowledge, prescription nebulizer medications are being swapped out with products that are not FDA-approved.

These products are not established generics of FDA-approved brand-name medications. Product labeling and advertisements do not warn patients that these medications are not FDA-approved as safe, sterile and effective.

The health risks associated with these unapproved medications are serious. In many cases these drugs contain known airway irritants. They may also contain too much or too little active ingredients and may be contaminated with bacteria.

At Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill 2005, AANMA called on Congress to change that situation. Visit AANMA’s Consumer Health Alliance for Safe Medication (CHASM) to get involved, or call 800.729.3804.

Learn more about the safety of your nebulized medications.

Breathing Easier At School
Celebrating Successes
At Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill 2003, Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) introduced the Asthmatic Schoolchildren’s Treatment and Health Management Act (HR 2023). This bill encouraged states to protect students’ rights to carry and self-administer prescribed asthma and/or anaphylaxis medications while at school.

After 18 months and the combined efforts of thousands of AANMA members and supporters, Congress unanimously passed the bill and President Bush signed it into law.

Today, schoolchildren with asthma and anaphylaxis, their parents and teachers can all breathe with relief as states enact laws protecting student access to critical medications.

Find out more.