Introduction: Inhalers account for 3% of England?s National Health Service (NHS) carbon emissions. This is primarily due to propellant gases found in metered-dose inhalers (MDI). These gases are not used in dry-powder inhalers (DPI) so they generally have a significantly lower carbon footprint. In 2020, a charity survey explored asthma patients? awareness of inhaler environmental impact & their attitude to switching to lower carbon inhalers. Of the >12,000 respondents, 65% were unaware of the carbon footprint of MDIs & 60% of MDI users would change device for environmental reasons.

Aim: To establish the knowledge of & attitude toward the environmental impact of inhalers of a cohort of patients with COPD (CP) or asthma (AP) under the care of a South East London (SEL) hospital.  

Methods: Patients were identified using outpatient clinic & inpatient ward lists in July & August 2022. Participants received an adapted version of the charity survey.

Results: 108 CPs & 115 APs completed the survey. Fewer CPs (22%) than APs (40%) were aware of the environmental impact of inhalers, while similar proportions of CPs & APs were willing to change to a greener inhaler (62% & 65% respectively) & felt that switching inhalers for environmental reasons should be encouraged (75% & 72%). Less than a fifth of patients were disposing of their inhalers appropriately by returning them to a pharmacy.

Conclusion: The views of SEL APs largely reflect the results of the 2020 charity survey. CPs, however, were less aware of the environmental impact of inhalers. Both groups had little awareness of how to safely dispose of inhalers. Despite this, it is reassuring that both groups are keen to engage with & support greener medicines use.