Ventolin shortages worry pharmacies and patients

In a pharmacy in the Ardennes, there is only one box of Ventolin left in stock. The situation for this medication prescribed to asthmatics is tense throughout France. In Paris, a pharmacist has just received Ventolin after several days of shortages but there are only four boxes left in his drawers. For customers, shortages of many medications are recurring and worrying.

4 million users are impacted by this tension. The laboratory that produces Ventolin did not wish to answer questions from 13 Heures. France is on red alert for grass pollen which can cause allergic asthma. In Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire), several walkers have unmistakable symptoms. In February, the government presented a draft list of medicines that require safety stocks.