The nation’s drug-makers have spent billions of advertising dollars selling consumers on the idea that there’s a drug for everything that ails us. Turns out, they’ve found one: the placebo. For some reason, the placebo effect has gotten significantly stronger in American drug trials. In fact, unexpectedly strong placebo performance has sunk several high-profile drug tests. It’s got the pharmaceutical industry worried enough to fund a major study to identify the factors in rising placebo potency. Drug companies could be victims of their own success in this instance: we’ve become so convinced of the power of modern medicine, it works even when we’re off the pill. [%comments]
The Strangely Powerful Placebo
and 
. You can also watch it on 
I believe in pacebos and take several every morning.
Since more expensive placebos have better placebo effect than cheaper, there is room for health-care reform to bollix the complaint that reform will destroy R+D advances. In fact, an X-Files deep conspiracy can start now, releasing a new “pancuronium” (I know Pancuronium is an existant drug, and it’s too bad it’s part of the lethal injection/euthanasia mixture, but what a great name for this product!) every, oh, three years, for more co-pay every time.
too bad the industry isn’t worried about reducing cost- they have lobbied to block comparative outcomes testing, to be used in health care reform to circumnavigate expensive/useless treatments- in effect, the industry has already lobbied congress to accept that their drugs have placebo effects, so no need to research if they actually do anything
Drug companies have already made enough on the price of prescription medicine. Now imagine the markup they could have on colored sugar pills! (Although the barrier’s to entry would be significantly lower, so that wouldn’t last long!)
Placebos are a great cure for hypochondria.
I’ve always wondered how medicine could make use of the placebo effect when treating patients.
On the one hand, if doctor prescribed a placebo to a patient & the patient found out, the doctor would be in deep doody -regardless of whether the placebo effect resulted in a lessening of a patients symptoms.
On the other hand, if the Doctor said “I’m going to prescribe this placebo first to see how it works out”, then there goes any possible benefit…
Oh my, wouldn’t that be the ultimate in irony, Big Pharma shot down by sugar and their own marketing campaigns?
actually, if there were money in placebos, big pharma would be in the front of the line selling them. That is why the drug manufacturers got into the vitamin and homeopathic markets.