CLEVELAND (WJW) — One of the most prescribed asthma inhalers is being discontinued. The nation’s largest asthma advocacy organization warns it could create issues for asthma patients.

Manufacturer GSK discontinued Flovent as of Jan. 1, but an authorized generic version of the medication is available.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America CEO and President Kenneth Mendez said patients should check with their doctor and insurance to determine coverage and availability. The generic is reportedly not as widely covered by insurance.

“There’s about 25, 26 million Americans with asthma,” Mendez said. “Unclear about how many of them are on this particular maintenance therapy but it is one of the better-known maintenance therapies for asthma, which is used to reduce the inflammation in your airways, so you don’t have an asthma attack.”

The drug manufacturer released a statement that said in part, “The transition from branded to authorized generics will not have an impact on our ability to supply the market and we expect minimal disruption for patients.”

“I think one of the most important things about this medication and people should understand is over 10 people die each day from asthma,” Mendez said. “It can be fatal and harmful to you so it’s very important to keep on your maintenance medication.”

The switch comes at the height of respiratory virus spread. However, it’s too early to determine how this change will impact people who count on the medication to breathe easier.

“One of the challenging things in all this is our health care system and access to medicines can be complicated sometimes,” Mendez said. “I’m not exactly sure why GSK decided to make this switch but because it’s a generic the common knowledge is it should be less expensive, and you should be able to access it more than a branded one so hopefully that will be the case.”