Epinephrine inhalers like Primatene Mist open air passages to the lungs to temporarily relieve wheezing, shortness of breath and troubled breathing.

An advisory panel voted 11-7 Tuesday to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration remove the "essential use" status that Primatene Mist and other similar nonprescription inhalers require to be sold, spokeswoman Laura Alvey said.

Final revocation of that status would mean a de facto ban on their sale. The FDA usually follows the advice of its outside panels of experts, though a decision can take months. If the agency opts to follow the recommendation, it would begin a rulemaking process that would include public comment, Alvey said.

Relieves Wheezing, Shortness of Breath

Wyeth Consumer Healthcare estimates that 3 million Americans use Primatene Mist for mild or intermittent cases of asthma, spokesman Fran Sullivan said.

About two-thirds also use a prescription inhaler but rely on Primatene as a backup. Another 700,000 use the inhalers because they don't have a prescription or lack health -insurance, he said.

The company is the biggest maker of epinephrine inhalers, with $43 million in sales last year. The drug opens air passages to the lungs to relieve temporarily wheezing, shortness of breath and troubled breathing, according to the FDA.

The over-the-counter inhalers proposed to be banned contain the drug epinephrine along with chlorofluorocarbons, which propel the medicine into the lungs of asthmatics.