Is Bayer aspirin Vegan?

Question

I have a minor to mild toothache an want to take an aspirin, Bayer brand to be exact. All but 1 of the ingredients are fine, but 1 is sus: glyceryl triacetate/triacetin. I have read that it is vegan and fine but also that it is non-vegan; which is it? Is it more a Russian Roulette type thing? Is this brand fine at least?

Answer 1

Bayer, as a company, are usually considered quite low on the spectrum of ethics.

If you search for "Bayer animal testing", one of the first hits will be their own website

on which you will find that they make a case in favor of animal testing while invoking the usual reduce-refine-replace

Some people question if we really need animal studies. The simple answer is yes! Without them, it would not be possible to develop new medicines, keep both humans and our animals healthy, and feed the growing population.

... which is probably the case of a lot of pharmaceutical companies.

The implementation of the 3 Rs is actually a European directive (Directive_2010/63/EU), so not really the company's initiative.

So no, Bayer aspirin is not vegan, and neither are Bayer products in general.

Answer 2

Bayer Aspirin is an animal-free product. The 325mg coated tablets and the 81mg low-dose chewables are vegan. Well, the aspirin in the bottle is vegan.

High doses of salicylic acid concentrated from willow bark caused hemorrhaging in the stomach wall, vomiting and cramps. Bayer was a chemical company and found a way to alter the chemical compounds in salicylic acid to fix the issue. So it was made in a lab. They tested their new aspirin on mice and rats first to make sure it didn't cause those problems in people anymore.

In addition to the animal testing, it has also been tested in modern times on human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293 cells or derivative cell lines).

Aspirin doesn't owe it's existence to either testing. So it's more of an ethical question. Do you avoid a product as non-vegan because of how a company tested it after they made it? Or because they bought Monsanto? That would be more of a boycott than a dietary choice.

So there are three considerations:

• What's in it?
• How was it made?
• How was it tested?

But there are no animal products in Bayer aspirin.