Pharmaceuticals embrace veganism as medicines like vegan-certified paracetamol hit the shelves

November 12th, 2022

Today, a majority of people are transitioning to live vegan lifestyles, and it is becoming more and more popular for good reasons. Celebrities, politicians, and even cricket players are increasingly beginning to understand the genuine benefits of veganism. If we look at the data from the previous year, according to Google, there was a global veganism adoption peak. People are quickly catching on to using plant-based products, and there is some excitement surrounding plant-based skincare, food, clothing and even snacks or desserts.

The vegan movement encourages a compassionate way of life for the environment, for animals, and ultimately for your own health. It is much more than a passing trend. However, a lot of individuals are still unaware of the vegan way of how several industries still use animal products without consumers realising it. For instance, did you realise that the vast majority of medications sold in pharmacies have ingredients with an animal origin? Read on to know more before we explain how medicines are soon to be plant-based too.

Instances of animal products in medicines

Magnesium stearate, which is the magnesium salt of the fatty acid stearic acid and can be derived from animals, is frequently found in medications that are taken as powder, tablets, or capsules. However, some medications—like paracetamol—that have been vegan-certified are starting to hit the shelves.

Are big pharmaceuticals prepared to accept veganism?

Accepting certain therapies can be challenging for those who abstain from all animal products. In reality, the Vegan Society, a British organisation that promotes vegan diets, cautions that 75% of the most frequently prescribed medications in the UK contain components produced from animals. Products made from bones, such gelatin, and magnesium stearate, can be found in some medicines. Animal fat is typically used to make magnesium stearate. Some medications also include lactose, which is derived from animal milk. The general audience may not always be informed of these components.

According to the Veggiepharm website, a French start-up that sells vegan medications and food supplements, "Of the 100 best-selling meds, it is impossible to verify whether the drug contains animal components in 70% of cases." The issue of animal testing is another one that vegans disagree with. The Vegan Society began the "Make More Medicines Vegan" campaign in 2017 with the British government as its target. Its objective was to spread knowledge on the use of plant-based approaches in the creation of medications.

Other medicines made from plants are already available

But it appears that some pharmaceutical corporations are providing the solutions. Beginning in the first week of March 2022, the German pharmaceutical company Axunio introduced a paracetamol that was made entirely from plants and was not tested on animals. This medication is the first to be certified as vegan by the Vegan Society. The makers of the medicine, Paraveganio, claim that this analgesic is just as effective as the paracetamol we are accustomed to using. It is advised to use in cases of minor pain or fever because of this. Despite containing 500 mg of paracetamol, Paraveganio is animal-free since it replaces the animal-based magnesium stearate with a vegetable-based
alternative.

Similar to this, the 2017-founded French laboratory Veggiepharm provides paracetamol that is "without extract of animal origin," is produced without using animal experimentation, and is approved by the Eve Vegan label.