Cigarettes May Contain Pig's Blood

An Australian academic says religious groups could find its undisclosed presence "very offensive."

Cigarettes may contain blood - research 
"Insight into world of cigarette manufacture"
Likely to raise concerns for Muslims, Jews
news.com.au

CIGARETTES may contain traces of pigs' blood, an Australian academic says with a warning that religious groups could find its undisclosed presence "very offensive".

University of Sydney Professor in Public Health Simon Chapman points to recent Dutch research which identified 185 different industrial uses of a pig - including the use of its haemoglobin in cigarette filters.

Prof Chapman said the research offered an insight into the otherwise secretive world of cigarette manufacture, and it was likely to raise concerns for devout Muslims and Jews.

Religious texts at the core of both of these faiths specifically ban the consumption of pork.

"I think that there would be some particularly devout groups who would find the idea that there were pig products in cigarettes to be very offensive," Prof Chapman said today.

"The Jewish community certainly takes these matters extremely seriously and the Islamic community certainly do as well, as would many vegetarians.

"It just puts into hard relief the problem that the tobacco industry is not required to declare the ingredients of cigarettes ... they say 'that's our business' and a trade secret."

The Dutch research found pig haemoglobin - a blood protein - was being used to make cigarette filters more effective at trapping harmful chemicals before they could enter a smoker's lungs.

Prof Chapman said while tobacco companies had moved voluntarily list the contents of their products on their websites, they also noted undisclosed "processing aids ... that are not significantly present in, and do not functionally affect, the finished product".

This catch-all term hid from public view an array of chemicals and other substances used in the making of tobacco products, he said.

At least one cigarette brand sold in Greece was confirmed as using pig haemoglobin in its processes, Prof Chapman said, and the status of smokes sold was unknown.

"If you're a smoker and you're of Islamic or Jewish faith then you'd probably would want to know and there is no way of finding out," Prof Chapman said.

The Sydney office of British American Tobacco Australia was contacted by AAP.

A spokeswoman said a comment would be provided although it was not immediately available.

The presence of pig's blood doesn't make cigarettes non-kosher – cancer, heart disease, and emphysema do.

[Hat Tip: A. Nuran.]

Comments

[itchiemayer]

Perhaps Shalom's mazal will change if he gives up smoking.

[Maskil]

Cigarrettes contain neither cancer, heart disease, nor emphysema.

[R]

Well Muslims are not allowed to smoke, so they are anyway going against their religion by doing so. And techincally Jews shouldn;t be allowed to smoke as it is a sure way of getting yourself in an early grave along with your nearest and dearest as they inhale the toxic fumes.

[harold]

What an excellent business opportunity for the kashrus industry; the certification of cigarettes. Many thanks Prof Chapman!

[Alter Kocker]

If it's manufactured, a yid will find a way to request that it be manufactured to kashruth standards and then charge a fee so that other yids may be gouged.

[A E ANDERSON]

If there is no taste of pig's blood (נותן תעם) it may well be permissible. The cigarette is inhaled rather than eaten, as well, and an unclean animal is only forbidden with respect to eating.

Sounds like Murdoch's journalism machine is trying to drum up some hype. Oddly reminiscent of the Indian (Sepoy) Mutiny of 1857, where rumours suggesting pig content in ammunition casings (which had to be bitten in the loading procedure) sparked a bloody revolt and series of anti-European massacres by Moslems, especially members of the East India Company's army.

We Jews won't take the cheap Murdoch bait, thank you.

(Rupert's pa Sir Keith was an anti-Semite who repeatedly tried, ultimately without success, to ruin the military career of the greatest Australian Jew ever, the late General Sir John Monash, GCMG, KCB, VD, by denouncing him and his people as pushy, uppity, aggressive and unsuited for a postion of national leadership.)

[A E ANDERSON]

תעם should read טעם

[Eli]

Blood, shmud.... as long as it's not gebrukts.

[HaNavon]

it doesn't matter if there's pigs blood, it's not 'reuy lachilas kelev', fitting to be eaten by a dog, and its totally ok
have a cagarette, it's kosher!