A NEW treatment for patients with breathing problems, which is delivered in a revamped inhaler, has been approved for use on the NHS in Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium backed the use of aclidinium for sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a disabling lung condition that affects 100,000 people living in Scotland.

The inhaler has been designed to prevent patients accidentally double-dosing or using the device when it is empty, by signalling when the drug has been delivered through a coloured window.

Dr John Haughney, a Glasgow GP, said: "The Genuair inhaler is a very welcome development in COPD that may help combat inhaler misuse."