An editorial discusses the implications of the findings of this study. It notes that most children will have their asthma controlled by low-dose inhaled glucocorticoids if taken regularly through an appropriate device, and if asthma is not controlled, rather than uncritically adding on further therapies, inhaler should first be checked, as well as making sure patients and children understand treatment and action plans, and at a minimum, verify whether the family is collecting enough prescriptions to cover the need for regular medications (one study reported that this is something achieved by only one in six families). It adds that there is no evidence for the use of a combined inhaler as first-line preventive therapy in children, and this fact needs to be emphasised because such use is increasingly creeping into practice. However, it acknowledges that for the unusual child with asthma who needs more than low-dose inhaled glucocorticoids to control the disease or who has persistent, objectively documented, variable airflow obstruction, the present trial provides reassuring evidence that combination inhalers containing a LABA and an inhaled glucocorticoid are safe.