Primatene Mist, a stalwart of over the counter asthma inhalers, is heading toward oblivion in a few short weeks. A few years ago, Congress passed a law in the United States, as part of a global initiative to save the environment from harmful chlorofluorocarbons, known as CFCs, which have been shown to harm the ozone layer. CFC were used to power the spray in things like hairspray, as well as asthma inhalers.

This law affected prescription inhalers, both the long-acting and the short-acting...