Apparently, the reason it's permissible is because if you put it in the capsule, then since you're swallowing it whole, the coating never comes in contact with the body, and only the actual drug part gets into your bloodstream. Which doesn't make Viagra kosher for Pesach, but it means that any pill which has a chametz coating can be taken if you put it in a gelatin capsule. I can understand that reasoning, but the focus on Viagra seems fishy, unless it's the only drug that works that way.
Okay, question from an uneducated gentile: Isn't the inside of the body still "the body", or does is something forbidden only if it doesn't touch the outside of the body?
It's no doubt complicated, and I'm not an authority, so I don't really know. But I can throw out some thoughts:
1. Could be that the gelatin capsule actually traps what's inside, and only the chemicals are able to escape. I have no idea whether this is the case or not...but I don't think it's likely. It could be something else along these lines, though.
2. On Passover, Jews aren't supposed to eat, own or have financial benefit from any food that is 'chametz' (basically, anything that includes leavened bread). The question is, what's considered food? And the answer is, anything that a dog would eat (I guess 'anything that a human would eat' is considered too lenient?). So it could be that by the time the drug escapes through the capsule (or the capsule melts, or however it works), since the pill has been through the preliminary stage of the whole digestion process, it's no longer fit for a dog's consumption, so we don't consider it food anymore.
3. The other possibility has to do with keeping kosher in general--Jews aren't allowed to eat non-kosher, but by 'eat,' it specifically refers to swallowing. If one puts a piece of pork in one's mouth, realize what it is, and then spit it out, one has not violated any law. So it could be that it only is considered chametz starting from when it's in the stomach, and once it's in the stomach, you can't swallow it anyway. I highly doubt that this is the answer, A because of what Ben said, and B because the prohibition on Passover against chametz is not just eating, but also against owning and having benefit from, and you pretty much have rights to anything inside your stomach.
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Date: 2005-04-19 02:40 pm (UTC)Apparently, the reason it's permissible is because if you put it in the capsule, then since you're swallowing it whole, the coating never comes in contact with the body, and only the actual drug part gets into your bloodstream. Which doesn't make Viagra kosher for Pesach, but it means that any pill which has a chametz coating can be taken if you put it in a gelatin capsule. I can understand that reasoning, but the focus on Viagra seems fishy, unless it's the only drug that works that way.
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Date: 2005-04-19 03:26 pm (UTC)Not really sure...
Date: 2005-04-19 03:59 pm (UTC)1. Could be that the gelatin capsule actually traps what's inside, and only the chemicals are able to escape. I have no idea whether this is the case or not...but I don't think it's likely. It could be something else along these lines, though.
2. On Passover, Jews aren't supposed to eat, own or have financial benefit from any food that is 'chametz' (basically, anything that includes leavened bread). The question is, what's considered food? And the answer is, anything that a dog would eat (I guess 'anything that a human would eat' is considered too lenient?). So it could be that by the time the drug escapes through the capsule (or the capsule melts, or however it works), since the pill has been through the preliminary stage of the whole digestion process, it's no longer fit for a dog's consumption, so we don't consider it food anymore.
3. The other possibility has to do with keeping kosher in general--Jews aren't allowed to eat non-kosher, but by 'eat,' it specifically refers to swallowing. If one puts a piece of pork in one's mouth, realize what it is, and then spit it out, one has not violated any law. So it could be that it only is considered chametz starting from when it's in the stomach, and once it's in the stomach, you can't swallow it anyway. I highly doubt that this is the answer, A because of what Ben said, and B because the prohibition on Passover against chametz is not just eating, but also against owning and having benefit from, and you pretty much have rights to anything inside your stomach.