The SYGMA 1 trial examined whether patients with mild asthma could use budesonide–formoterol only when needed rather than rely on a short-acting beta-agonist alone or daily maintenance budesonide. Across 52 weeks, as-needed budesonide–formoterol reduced severe exacerbations substantially compared with as-needed terbutaline, while using much less inhaled corticosteroid than regular twice-daily budesonide. Symptom control, however, was better with scheduled maintenance budesonide. This distinction is clinically important. The study does not suggest that as-needed combination treatment is automatically superior for every patient; rather, it demonstrates that an anti-inflammatory reliever strategy can reduce exacerbation risk while limiting cumulative steroid exposure in selected patients with mild asthma. The findings help frame the NAPCON discussion around everyday asthma phenotyping and practical treatment decisions. For clinicians, the key considerations remain symptom pattern, previous exacerbations, adherence, inhaler technique and the ability to use the regimen correctly. The trial also illustrates why asthma treatment should address airway inflammation rather than relying on a bronchodilator-only rescue approach. Its results became an important part of the evidence base for modern as-needed ICS–formoterol strategies.