MODEL RELEASED. Asthma attack. 40-year-old man using an inhaler to treat an asthma attack. Asthma attacks can be triggered by irritants like those found in roadside air pollution. Asthma is a lung disorder that causes attacks of wheezing, coughing and breathlessness. The inhaler dispenses a bronchodilator drug that widens the airways in the lungs, aiding breathing. Asthma usually begins in childhood and improves as the patient matures.