Placebo: Now available in maximum strength

Maggie Koerth 11:47 am Wed May 16, 2012

For only 6 British Pounds, you can cure what ails you with Placebo maximum strength sugar pills.

I'm a little sad that Etsy user spellingmistakes got to this idea before I could start marketing Placebex, as I've been threatening to do since approximately 2001. Maybe there's an intellectual property lawsuit in there someplace. ;)

And, before you ask, yes … there really is some evidence that placebos work even if the people taking them already know that the drug is a placebo. Back in 2010, a study of ethical placebos used with irritable bowel patients got a lot of press. It was a follow up to a 2008 study that found roughly the same results.

If you want to read more on ethical placebos, I'd recommend checking out the following stories:

• Evidence that placebos work even if you tell people they're taking placebos by Ed Yong

• Meet the ethical placebo by Steve Silberman

Or, perhaps, you might like to purchase some Placebo maximum strength.

Via Darren Cullen

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