A few questions about medication

Hello all, as the title suggests I have a couple of questions concerning medication that I am hoping I can get some information/answers about. I was taking asthmacort, 4 puffs a day, and had a rescue inhaler of proair( can't quite remember the name but it was a inhaled steroid). I was on this treatment for several years, then I moved to Hawaii and my asthma virtually disappeared, except during exercise or Vog (Volcanic gases) exposure. However now that I have moved to the UK I am experiencing a return of asthma during normal day activity and allergies. I have done some research and currently it appears that asthmacort is now a some what ignored drug by doctors. It seems that most likely I will get prescribed advair, or seretide here in the UK, and a rescue inhaler of Ventolin. My questions are:

1.) Is advair a similar distribution method as asthmacort (propellant, powder etc)?
2.) Are the side effects less with advair then asthmacort?
3.) Is ventolin the same as proair?
4.) Can anyone suggest some other possible preventive treatments I can suggest when I see my GP that have worked well for people as to reduce my need for the rescue inhaler?

[Tammy2009]

Advair has both a powder and HFA propellant inhalers in differing strengths.  It's a combination of an inhaled steriod and long-acting bronchodilator.  

Sideeffects are going to be very individual but most inhaled steroids are similar so the side effects are similar.  Although I react completely different to symbicort and advair so there is a chance.  

We don't have proair in canada so I'm not sure, i think it is just a different brand but not completely sure.  

I have found a huge improvement in my asthma with taking some supplements (they seem to work better than the prednisone I was on).  2000 IU of vit D (may help a lot since you moved from a sunny, warm area that allowed you to get a lot of vit D to an area with little vit D exposure), omega 3 and another supplement called N-acetyl cysteine.  

Good luck!