Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Analysis

Suitability of common drugs for patients who avoid animal products

BMJ 2014; 348 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g401 (Published 04 February 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g401

Rapid Response:

Re: Suitability of common drugs for patients who avoid animal products

I am pleased that Kate Tatham and Kinesh Patel have raised the profile of this problem.

Lack of information for patients who wish to avoid animal derived products in drugs is an issue I have recognised for many years. In 2008 I was involved in discussions about animal ingredients in medications with Surinder Sharma (National Director for Equality and Human Rights, Department of Health). There has been no progress. It is still difficult for patients to find out about ingredients in their medication. This does not fit with the NHS aim of increasing transparency.

I have found the best way for patients to obtain information about medication is to discuss their concerns with a friendly pharmacist. The pharmacist can enquire about medication ingredients. Usually any animal ingredients can be identified by discussion with manufacturers of branded products. Information about the contents of generic products can be more difficult to obtain.

The problem of animal ingredients in medication can be taken one step further. Not only is the labelling of animal content in medication poor, the availability of medication without animal content is very poor. This situation appears to be contra to The Equality Act 2010 which states that it is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of religion or belief.

Competing interests: No competing interests

11 February 2014
Philip Bickley
GP
NHS
Shanklin House Surgery, Handsworth, B20 3HE