Prescriptions for combination asthma inhalers for children aged five or younger have plunged by more than 70% in five years after a concerted campaign against the use of the medication.

The campaign followed a PBS review in 2014 showing thousands of young children were being prescribed fixed-dose inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta agonists (ICS/LABA) inhalers as first-line therapy despite clinical guidelines warning against the practice.