Inhaled corticosteroids are the gold standard anti-inflammatory therapy for patients with asthma. Currently, only a small proportion of the inhaled corticosteroid dose is actually delivered to the site of inflammation in the airways. Recent moves towards environmentally friendly chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free inhaler devices have presented an opportunity to refine, and better target, corticosteroid aerosol delivery to the lungs. The favourable characteristics and clinical potential of a new CFC-free beclomethasone extrafine aerosol were discussed at a 3M-sponsored symposium at the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society [Berlin, Germany; September 1997].