The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to swallow respiratory disease medications meant for inhalation after it received several reports related to it.

Respiratory drugs Spiriva and Foradil capsules are used to ease breathing in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease. But FDA said it received several reports of the capsules being swallowed

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) typically suffer from emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthma. These sufferers may now find new alternative relief in a recently approved Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medication called Perforomist (a nebulized formoterol).

The long-acting nebulizer was found to be less expensive and more convenient for older patients in comparison with Foradil, the dry-powder formulation drug for COPD

The Food and Drug Administration asked the makers of three popular asthma medications to add new warnings to their labels warning that the drugs could increase the risk of severe asthma attacks and even death.

The agency asked the manufacturers of Advair, Serevent and Foradil to strengthen the warning labels to reflect this risk.The FDA said that even though the drugs decrease the frequency of asthma attacks, they can make the attacks more severe when they occur

The Food and Drug Administration asked the makers of three popular asthma medications to add new warnings to their labels warning that the drugs could increase the risk of severe asthma attacks and even death. The agency asked the manufacturers of Advair, Serevent and Foradil to strengthen the warning labels to reflect this risk.The FDA said that even though the drugs decrease the frequency of asthma attacks, they can make the attacks more severe when they occur. The drugs are used for long-term control and prevention of asthma symptoms. Patients should use short-acting inhalers to relieve sudden wheezing, according to the FDA's public health advisory.

In July, an advisory panel to the FDA said the three asthma drugs were safe enough to stay on the market

A U.S. advisory panel unanimously says three GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and Novartis AG, asthma drugs are safe enough to stay on the market despite concerns that they raise the risk of severe asthma attacks in rare cases.

Panel members say the drugs' benefits of controlling asthma symptoms and improving lung function outweighed the small possibility of a life-threatening asthma attack