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Here’s the original ‘story’:
http://www.news.com.au/national/cigarettes-may-contain-pigs-blood/comments-e6frfkvr-1225847653290
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. 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. “Professor” Chapman obviously did not feel it necessary to disclose either the name of the Dutch researcher or the name of the paper. His argument also hinges on extraordinary ignorance from the readers too. For starters, haemoglobin being part of the filter does not mean cigarettes contain it. Secondly, it is neither ingested through smoking nor harmful, and is used it beer, shampoo and bread, neither of which were mentioned by Chapman. You would think bread or shampoo would be a bigger issue for the religious communities really. Thirdly, he claims the tobacco industry is secretive - wrong. Ever since the Master Settlement Agreement their internal documents have been viewable by the public, and they openly list their ingredients for each brand on their respective websites for the world to see. Each ingredient, by the way, is certified for usage in tobacco products. Chapman also noticed “one” brand in Greece had haemoglobin, so hardly a major panic piece. After some digging around, I found this article http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/health/claims-of-pig-blood-in-cigarette-filters-coughs-up-a-cloud-of-controversy/367106 which again fails to mention a name or paper, and reveals that it has not been proved, but claimed in a book. It is also revealed it has been used in Indonesia as a result of little to no control, rather than being used in more developed nations. Finally, it has not been claimed that this is harmful or anything to worry about, but is instead being used as a gross-out factor with the aim of ‘encouraging’ smokers to quit. If this were anything but, then bread, beer and shampoo companies would also be targeted. Instead, the ‘evil tobacco industry is targeted because it’s fashionable and acceptable.
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.”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.”
