Washington ? Government health advisers recommended restrictions Thursday on some long-acting asthma drugs, although not Advair, a top-selling medication.

Outside experts advising the Food and Drug Administration said Foradil and Serevent no longer should be used for asthma. But they said the benefits of the more widely used Advair and Symbicort clearly outweigh the risks.

Each contains an ingredient that relaxes muscles around stressed airways. But that may mask symptoms that can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks. Advair and Symbicort contain a second ingredient that reduces inflammation inside breathing passages and may help patients avoid such problems.

For all four drugs, the FDA’s drug safety experts had recommended restrictions, including not using them to treat asthmatic children. The agency’s respiratory specialists disagreed, saying the risks were manageable.