The Sensitive Choice program is promoting the importance of maintaining good asthma management in line with the National Asthma Council’s updated national asthma guidelines.

Using just a blue puffer is not enough to manage your asthma.

The way asthma is treated has changed. Asthma management isn’t just about relieving symptoms; it’s about treating what’s causing them.

If you’re using your blue puffer more than 2 days a week on average, it could be a sign that your asthma isn’t well controlled. Relying only on a blue puffer, or needing it often, means you are at risk of severe asthma attacks. 

A blue puffer contains a medicine called short-acting beta2 agonist (SABA). It does not treat the underlying inflammation that causes asthma. It does not prevent symptoms or attacks. It just relieves symptoms and helps treat asthma attacks that have already started. 

Relying on a blue puffer (SABA) alone doesn’t treat the underlying airway inflammation and can increase the risk of a serious asthma flare-up that may require oral steroids or hospitalisation.  

Using 3 or more reliever canisters per year increases the risk of asthma flare-ups. Using 12 or more relievers canisters per year increases the risk of asthma-related death. 

For people with mild asthma, an anti-inflammatory reliever (AIR) is now the recommended treatment option because it helps treat the underlying inflammation while also providing symptom relief. 

Join us in raising awareness.

Download our National Asthma Week promotional materials to share with friends, family or workplaces: sensitivechoice.com/national-asthma-week-2026/.

Ask your health professional about the asthma guidelines changes at your next asthma review.