Medicinal pills or vitamins fall under this category of non-edible Chametz (nifsal meakhilat keleb) when they are meant to be swallowed, instead of chewed. Think about a Tylenol pill, either as a hard white pill or as a gel tablet. You cannot chew it, because they have a very bad flavor. Therefore, because you swallow the pill, it is considered as a non-edible product, even if you introduce it thru your mouth (for educational purposes only: think of it as if you would inject the Tylenol into your body). Therefore non-chewable pills don't need to be checked for Chametz ingredients. Therefore any non-chewable pill (which is the same as saying: any pill with a bad flavor) can be taken and obviously kept during Pesach. Check here to see Rabbi Gedaliah Schwartz position in OTC medicine for Ashkenazi tradition, which is slightly stricter than the Sephardic tradition.
http://www.crcweb.org/kosher_articles/over_the_counter_medicine.php#_ftn5
OTC syrups or chewable vitamins or medicine which contain a good or a neutral flavor, need to be checked for chametz ingredients. Why? Because these products are not meant as "food" but they are consumed in the normal way we eat food: chewing or drinking. For these products, we take a stricter stand: therefore, any chewable or liquid medicine should be checked for Chametz before using it during Pesach. (Next week BH I will present a list with this type of medicine and syrups which do not contain any chametz elements).
Needless to say, that in case of a serious medical condition any necessary medicine should be taken
Shabbat Shalom!!!
Candle lighting in NYC: 7:02
Shabbat ends in NYC: 8:11
MUST WATCH!!!!
Amran Hussain EUJS speech at the UN 21st of March 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZgtpuwFVYs
Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024
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