Patent ID: 7117867

Claim:
A hand-held inhaler, comprising: a mouthpiece: a heater; a medicament containing material to be volatilized; a source of power operating the heater; and a programmed control device controlling a supply of power from the source of power to the heater; a pressure drop detecting device which determines when a predetermined pressure drop occurs in the mouthpiece, the pressure drop detecting device being arranged to send a signal to the control device to indicate that the predetermined pressure drop is occurring, and the control device being arranged to control the power source to supply power to the heater in response to the signal from the pressure drop detecting device, the material being located in a first component of the inhaler and the control device and the source of power being located in a second component of the inhaler, the first component being a disposable component removably attached to the second component and the heater being operable to volatilize the material and form an aerosol in the mouthpiece of the inhaler.