Cigarette filters are reportedly laced with pig's blood according to a research study on the many uses of pig parts. Picture: BT file
Izam Said Ya'akub
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
THERE is no word yet from any Brunei government agency concerned about reports on traces of pig's blood in filters used for cigarettes.
The State Mufti's Office is awaiting results of laboratory tests by a Malaysian government laboratory on the presence of pig's blood in cigarette filters as stated in a foreign news reports based on a book on the many uses of pig parts.
Ahmad Roza from the State Mufti's Office, said, "The Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia have called for the authorities to investigate the claims."
He added that the office had been notified of the claims last week and was expecting the results from tests conducted abroad.
The Ministry of Health, meanwhile, said it had not been officially contacted by any government agency to conduct tests but was now aware of the situation.
The possibility of pig's blood being used in cigarettes has caused concern among the public, with many awaiting confirmation from the authorities to verify the claims.
Reports from Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia on pig's blood in filters have triggered public worry among Bruneians, non-smokers and smokers alike.
"I think it is rotten and disgusting," said Ahmad Tarmizi. The 29-year-old said that it would probably persuade him and many others to quit smoking.
Majin Razak, a graphic designer said he was shocked by the news. "It's terrible, and it raises a lot of questions as to whether it (haemoglobin) is in the smoke which is inhaled and exhaled (by smokers)," he said.
A civil servant who wished to remain anonymous said that he would like to hear the authorities respond.
"It would be difficult to accept, but I would like to wait for a proper statutory body to verify the claims," he said.
Reports said a book written by Christien Meindertsma, Pig 05049, cites 185 different ways that pig's body parts can be used in the manufacture of cigarettes. According to reports from Australia, Professor Simon Chapman a Public Health expert at the University of Sydney, said that the Dutch research found pig's haemoglobin being used in the making of cigarette filters. The protein is added to make cigarette filters more effective at trapping harmful chemicals before they could enter a smoker's lungs.
On the university's website Chapman was quoted as saying, "Many devout Islamic and Jewish smokers and some vegetarians would be horrified to think they were putting a filter in their mouth which contained a pig product."
While some Bruneians have responded by saying they do not need to worry as they smoke cigarettes from Indonesia, the largest Muslim population in Southeast Asia, reports have unearthed the fact that manufacturers there import their filters.
Indonesian media had quoted Kartono Muhammad, the former head of the Indonesian Doctors Association saying that Indonesia used imported filters for cigarettes it produces.
The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/news-national/2010/04/13/brunei-awaits-msia-tests-tobacco-filters
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