KUWAIT: Recently, an Arab- American pharmacist named Wessam Alawiya conducted research on which vitamins are halal, and found that 90 percent of vitamins include substances extracted from pigs, which is prohibited in Islam. It was then that he thought of creating special vitamins for Muslims. Alawiya, the first to introduce the halal concept to the world of medicine, started promoting his new products in the American city of Detroit during the holy month of Ramadan and is planning to expand his campaign in the near future.
With Kuwait being an Islamic country, no pork products are allowed to enter the country and all food stuffs and medicines are checked and tested. Because Kuwait does not allow medicines, including substances extracted from pigs, there should not be any need for halal medicine.
Nadya, a pharmacist from Salmiya, denied knowing about any vitamins that include pork extracts. "The Medicine Control Department and inspectors are responsible for protecting the local market from importing any products containing pork extracts. They are checking all the imported medicines, so the consumers should be confident of the medicine they are consuming," she told the Kuwait Times. She also added that they do not have any halal vitamins at the pharmacy and she had not heard about such vitamins.
Another pharmacist named Lina noted that she is not so sure about the monitoring by the Medicine Control authorities. "As far as I know, the Ministry is mainly checking the active substance of the medicine, such as calcium, vitamins or others. What I know for sure is that if the vitamins or other medicines do not include gelatin, they will be free of pig ingredients. I know, for instance, that the inspectors check for the presence of alcohol in the medicines, because Kuwait only imports alcohol- free products," she pointed out.
She also said that there is only one kind of vitamin in the pharmacy containing the word halal. "We have the B 12 vitamin which is marked as a vegetarian kind of vitamin, which has the word halal on it. It is made in Texas, USA," stressed Lina.
Hiba, from a pharmacy in Hawally, said she doubts that vitamins containing gelatin could be from pigs. "I trust the medicine control in Kuwait and I do not think they would let a medicine containing pork enter the country. We do not have halal vitamins in the pharmacy, and I doubt they are available in the local market," she explained.
© Kuwait Times 2012
