British doctors have called for honest labeling of medicines containing animal ingredients so that vegetarians and vegans can avoid them, according to the science-popular information portal ScienceDaily.
Activists Dr. Kinesh Patel and Dr. Keith Tatham from the UK told the public about the lies that many responsible doctors can no longer tolerate, not only in “foggy Albion”, but also in other countries.
The fact is that often drugs containing a number of components derived from animals are not specifically labeled in any way, or are labeled incorrectly (as purely chemical). Therefore, people who adhere to an ethical lifestyle and diet may unknowingly use such drugs, being unaware of what (or rather, WHOM) they are made from.
At the same time, neither the consumer nor the seller of the drug have the opportunity to check the composition of the drug on their own. This creates a moral problem that modern pharmaceuticals, even in the most advanced countries of the world, so far refuses to acknowledge – since its solution, although possible, conflicts with making a profit.
Many physicians agree that additional medical advice and prescription of a new drug will be required if a vegetarian learns that the drug he needs contains animal components. However, you will agree that many – especially, of course, vegans and vegetarians – are willing to spend a little time and money not to swallow pills containing microdoses of animal corpses!
Human rights advocates, not without reason, believe that consumers have a right to know whether a medical product contains animal components or not – just as in many countries manufacturers of sweets and other products are required to indicate on the packaging whether it is 100% vegetarian, or a vegan product, or it contains meat (usually such packaging receives a yellow, green or red colored sticker, respectively).
The problem has been particularly acute this year following the conflict in Scotland, where children, regardless of religious beliefs, were vaccinated against the flu with a preparation containing pork gelatin, which caused a wave of protest among the Muslim population. Vaccination was discontinued due to public reaction.
However, a number of doctors are now claiming that this is only an isolated case, and animal components are found in many medicines that are very widespread, and vegetarians have the right to know which medicines contain them! Although experts note that the absolute amount of animal content in a tablet can be truly microscopic – however, this does not make the problem less, because. many would not want to consume even “just a little”, for example, pork gelatin (which is often obtained even today from the cartilage of slaughtered pigs, and not by the more expensive chemical method).
To gauge the extent of the problem, medical activists conducted an independent study of the composition of 100 of the most popular (in the UK) medicines – and found that the majority – 72 of them – contained one or more animal ingredients (most commonly animal lactose, gelatin and/or magnesium stearate). origin).
Doctors noted that the accompanying paper sometimes indicated the animal origin, sometimes not, and sometimes deliberately false information about the chemical origin was given, although the opposite took place.
It is clear that no sane doctor, before writing a prescription, does not conduct his own clinical research – just as the owner of a pharmacy does not do this, and even more so the seller in the store – so, it turns out, the fault lies with the manufacturer, with the pharmaceutical companies.
The researchers concluded: “Our data shows that many patients unknowingly consume medicines containing animal components, and neither the doctor who prescribes the medicine nor the pharmacist who sells it to you may actually be unaware.”
The doctors stressed that, in fact, there is no urgent need to obtain the most commonly used animal components in pharmaceuticals from animals: gelatin, magnesium stearate, and lactose can be obtained chemically, without killing animals.
The authors of the study emphasize that although the production of drugs from 100% chemical (non-animal) components will cost a little more, losses can be negated or even made a profit if the marketing strategy emphasizes the fact that this is a completely ethical product that is suitable for vegetarians and does not cause harm to animals.