Wal-Mart offers albuterol inhaler for $9

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart has announced it will carry an environmentally friendly albuterol rescue inhaler starting at $9, company officials in Bentonville, Ark., said.

The ReliOn Ventolin HFA inhalers, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart -- but not available in North Dakota -- will ease the transition as asthma sufferers are forced to replace their CFC-powered inhalers with new HFA inhalers in the new year to comply with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandate.

"While some HFA inhalers may sell for as much as $60 for certain brands, our $9 ReliOn Ventolin HFA inhaler will ease the financial burden for sufferers of asthma who should not go without these life-saving medications," Sandy Kinsey, Wal-Mart's divisional merchandise manager for pharmacy, said in a statement.

With 60 metered inhalations, the ReliOn Ventolin HFA inhaler helps both patients and healthcare professionals monitor and track usage via the dose counter to identify overuse of albuterol, Kinsey said.

The inhaler also helps patients track how many puffs remain in their inhaler so they do not run out of their medication when they need it most, Kinsey added.