JEFFREY SINGER: A good place to start Trump’s new health care plan: More drugs over the counter.

Watching a TV commercial for Primatene Mist — the over-the-counter inhaler that uses epinephrine (adrenaline) to treat asthma attacks — I found myself wondering why people with asthma can buy that drug but not albuterol. It’s a question that goes straight to the heart of President Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan.”

Epinephrine is a blunt instrument. It stimulates the heart and blood vessels and can raise blood pressure and heart rate. Albuterol, in contrast, is more targeted. It acts mainly on the bronchial system and has fewer effects elsewhere in the body.

Yet in the U.S., the cruder drug is available over the counter, whereas the cleaner one is locked behind a prescription. In much of the world — including Australia, South Africa and large parts of Latin America — patients can buy albuterol without a prescription.

Just one example of many. BTW, Epinephrine is good for severe allergic reactions. I used to keep some Primatene Mist in my first aid kit for that reason, but they took it off the market for a while because its propellant depleted ozone (no, really) and I didn’t put it back when it returned because I just didn’t get around to it.