The U.S. Food Drug Administration has warned that GlaxoSmithKline Plc's asthma drugs Serevent and Advair may have fatal side effects on children.

In a report posted on the FDA's Web site Friday, the agency said at least five users of Serevent, one of Glaxo's biggest-selling medications, died while taking it in the 13 months after U.S. approved its use for children in 2006. Four others under the age of 16 were harmed

Use of a popular class of asthma inhaler medications may increase the risk of asthma-linked death, according to new data.

A study showed that use of long-acting beta-agonist bronchodilator inhalers more than tripled users' risk of asthma-related death, reports HealthDay. Risks for hospitalization and life-threatening complications also went up

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