Scotland becomes first nation to prohibit anaesthetic that is 2,500 times more harmful than CO2
Scotland becomes first nation to prohibit anaesthetic that is 2,500 times more harmful than CO2
prativad 
New Delhi: Scotland has now become the first nation in the world to forbid its hospitals from using the anaesthetic desflurane because of the danger it poses to the environment.
The gas is basically used to keep people unconscious during a surgery. The data from the National Health Service (NHS) suggests that it has the potential to increase global warming. It also claims that the gas has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than CO2.
Hospitals across the UK have cut down the usage of this gas. BBC reported that in the last few years, 40 hospital trusts in England and a few hospitals in Wales have stopped using it.
Media reports suggest that NHS England is likely to introduce a similar ban from 2024, which, like Scotland, prohibits its use except in exceptional circumstances.
According to an NHS analysis of desflurane use in 2020, banning it across NHS hospitals in England would reduce harmful emissions equivalent to powering 11,000 homes each year.
It is believed that nations across Europe are also planning to make a similar move in the coming few years.
Dr Kenneth Barker, anaesthetist and clinical lead for Scotland’s national green theatres programme told BBC that in 2017 he realised that the amount of desflurane used on a regular day’s work resulted in emissions equivalent to him driving 670 miles a day. After knowing the harmful effects, Barker said he immediately stopped using it.
Is it really harmful?
According to a study by the US based National Center for Biotechnology Information, inhaled anaesthetics used during general anaesthesia are estimated to be responsible for 0.01 percent to 0.10 percent of the total worldwide CO2 equivalent emissions.
The study cites an example, which states that an hour of surgery using the inhaled anaesthetic desflurane is equivalent to driving up to 470 miles. Anaesthesia providers were also advised to exercise caution by reducing unnecessary atmospheric pollution.
With inputs from agencies
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