Fashion wars in asthma inhalers?

Perhaps it's an omen for our environmental future, but there's been a rising number of products aimed at asthma sufferers on the market lately. Still, who would have thought that inhalers would become fashion items?

The "Apod" started the trend with its neon-colored cases, and now the "Puffapouch" has upped the ante with its own versions, which seem a bit more urban in such styles as denim and camouflage. And Respire's magnetic inhaler case provides a fashionable way to carry the devices while keeping them free of "dust and fluff." All three companies are based in the United Kingdom, which may be a sign of the disease's prevalence there.

Despite their different designs and products, they share the common goal of de-stigmatizing the disease, which is so often the subject of such nerdsome stereotypes as Carl Wheezer, the animated best friend of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. That may be a tall order given the nature of schoolyard cruelty, but there may be hope for other reasons. With all the idiotic gadgets created almost daily, asthma inhalers may hardly draw a passing glance.

(Thanks to April and Guy)