DiscoverNo One Saw It ComingHairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer
Hairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer

Hairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer

Update: 2025-11-03
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It’s small enough to fit in your pocket and it’s saved countless lives.

The asthma puffer has had a long journey, stretching back thousands of years to various treatments including asthma cigarettes. 

But the asthma puffer as we know it today is all thanks to a young girl’s throwaway comment over breakfast in the 1950s. 

Dr Daniel Duke from Monash University tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) about how the asthma puffer came into existence and how he fits into its long history as well. 

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Hairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer

Hairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer

Australian Broadcasting Corporation