7 September 2011: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ozone Secretariat have reported that Iran has become the first Asian-Pacific country to successfully phase out the use of metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) based on chlorofluorocarbon (CFC).

CFCs are controlled under the Montreal Protocol and are known to be greenhouse gases (GHGs). Iran closed down a plant manufacturing CFC-based MDIs and looked at ways to further promote ozone-friendly alternatives. According to UNIDO, the initiative is part of a public-private partnership on phasing out CFC-based MDIs, agreed in 2008, by 21 countries in South Asia, and reflected in Langkawi Declaration. [UNIDO Press Release] [Langkawi Declaration on Public-Private Partnership on Phasing-Out CFC-Metered Dose Inhalers]