Comments on: Nurofen Shopping Tension

By: Statto

Statto — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:23:27 +0000

You may be saving your readers money, but you may also be reducing their pain relief! A trial involving four permutations aspirin tablets, placebo sugar pills, branded packaging and blank packaging found that both the real drug and the placebos were more effective pain relief when inside a box labelled with a well-advertised brand. It’s possible that a headachey consumer will enjoy greater effects from the box with the targeted advertising.

We probably can’t ascribe such noble motives to the drug company, though, who are probably conducting a transparent exercise in extracting the consumer surplus—if idiots are willing to pay more for the same pills, so much the better for their balance sheets. Then again, maybe the higher price accentuates the feeling of quality and thus the placebo effect…

By: Eskoala

Eskoala — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:40:14 +0000

I know that just looking at the packet of tension headache pills made me feel better (possibly because they have worked before, possibly because the pills I took earlier had started to take effect). You may well be right. However, realising that the two kinds have the same ingredients makes me think of the Express ones as also good for tension headaches, so the placebo effect is restored!

Particularly with tension headaches, the release of muscular tension is as important as pain control, so I suspect the act of buying pills that you think will actually work releases stress and fixes you somewhat anyway. Cunning.

By: Statto

Statto — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:00:33 +0000

I wonder how the meta-placebo effect (I just made that up), one aspect of which is presumably that feeling of smugness that you’ve got a bargain by buying cheaper but identical medication, helps to relieve pain…does it counteract the reduction in pain relief from knowing about the placebo effect? I hope so.