{"id":566,"date":"2019-04-17T17:15:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T17:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/?post_type=health&p=566"},"modified":"2019-07-19T11:27:51","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T11:27:51","slug":"medicine","status":"publish","type":"health","link":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/health-fitness\/medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"
Life without modern medicines and treatments would be a perilous one. The slightest injury or illness could potentially result in a life-threatening infection that would essentially be brushed aside by today\u2019s antibiotics.<\/p>\n
In the UK, the various medicines and treatments available are provided directly by the National Health Service (NHS), through prescription at pharmacies, or indeed in the form of over-the-counter medicines, pills and potions from pharmacies and other retailers like supermarkets.<\/p>\n
Please note that we are not giving any medical advice and we are not qualified to do so. We are providing information about certain medicines and whether or not they could be classified as vegan friendly.<\/p>\n
All discussions about any medications you are taking or considering taking should be undertaken between yourself and your chosen medical professionals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That modern healthcare saves and improves the lives of millions of people in the UK (and billions around the world) is not in dispute. The conundrum for vegans, however, is that many medicines cannot be classified as vegan friendly for one of three main reasons.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll take a look at each of these in turn in this article, and we\u2019ll also outline how vegans can maximise their chances of acquiring vegan-friendly medicines and treatments. It should first be noted, as we stated in our article on vaccines<\/a>, that being a vegan should not be a choice that becomes detrimental to a person\u2019s health.<\/p>\n As such we certainly DO NOT advocate vegans refusing any medication or treatments that have been recommended for them by a medical professional on the basis that they have been tested on animals or even those that contain animal-derived products.<\/p>\n Note also that we don\u2019t include vitamin supplements under the umbrella of medicines. We cover them extensively in the vegan vitamins & supplements<\/a> section of the site.<\/p>\n The official definition of veganism states that vegan principles should be followed only \u201cas far as is possible and practicable\u201d. When prescribed a course of medication that could save your life, it is clearly not practicable to refuse this treatment on the basis that it had been tested on animals.<\/p>\n Having said that, with a little research, it should be possible to seek out vegan-friendly versions of some common over-the-counter medicines; in reality, that should be written \u201cvegan-friendly\u201d as all medications in the UK have to have been tested on animals before being administered to or sold to humans. As such, no regulated medication sold or administered in the UK can be truly classified as vegan, all we can say is that it contains no animal products.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to the Pharmaceutical Journal, the over-the-counter medicines market was worth \u00a32.62 billion<\/a> in 2016. This included: \u00a3603.5m spent on pain relief (over half of which was on adult oral analgesics); \u00a3500.8m on cough, cold and sore throat medication; \u00a3450.2m on skin treatments; \u00a3368.0m on vitamins, minerals and anti-tiredness medication; \u00a3259.6m on gastrointestinal medication; and \u00a3132.8m on smoking cessation medication\/treatments.<\/p>\n Here are some options for (almost) vegan version of popular over the counter medicines, in the sense they at least contain no animal products:<\/p>\nVeganism & Medicine: When Possible and Practicable<\/h2>\n
Over-the-Counter Options<\/h2>\n
Vegan Friendly Over-the-Counter Medicines<\/h3>\n