Airborne: Yep, it doesn't work
Paul C. just added a comment to an old post:
Did you hear that the courts recently decided that Airborne was essentially useless, and now they'll have to reimburse buyers to the tune of roughly $23 million? When you're right, you're right.
Oh yeah. Sweet, sweet victory. What is it about human psychology that makes so many people trust this stuff while at the same time vilifying the companies that make actual lifesaving medicine? Maybe people wouldn't believe the pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo about vaccines causing autism if instead of getting a painful shot you had an exciting fizzy pill that came in a box with nice, reassuring art by Lloyd Dangle.
posted by Adam Villani @ 3/05/2008 07:26:00 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
This might have far-reaching implications. I noticed the other day that regular cold medicines like Halls are now offering "preventative" versions. Brilliant marketing, bad science.
My mom is always on us to take this stuff -- she practically insisted on it when we visited at Christmas. There's something about her attitude toward herbalism, science, and plain old magic I can't figure out. As a fundamentalist Christian, shouldn't she be against witchcraft? Yet one of my most vivid memories from my college years was when she pushed aggressively for us to hire a dowser to search for water on our property. She insisted that it really works.
There's a solid gold blog post in these issues, but my dad reads my blog, so I have to rant about them here.
I should really read Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things."
I recommend Shermer's book highly.
I always wondered why the fact that Airborne is "invented by a school teacher" should have convinced us it's good medicine...
Yeah, maybe I'm weird, but "Invented by a pharmaceutical researcher" would have more cachet with me.
Wearing my pharmacist hat, people are indeed much more likely to believe that herbal remedies are 'safe' while pharmaceuticals are inherently 'bad'. Nevermind that many of the most important drugs have natural origins. It is funny (and sad) how much misinformation is out there about anything related to health. I think this lack of information is one of the biggest contributors to today's skyrocketing health care costs.
-Jen
Now my health economist hat: losses are perceived as having huge effects on utility while gains are perceived to have small effects on utility. In other words, people want to believe the negative about drugs because they overinflate their chances of having an adverse effect while they downplay the benefits from medications. It's human nature...
The thing I can't get over now are all the people posting in their LJs about the settlement. I am PRETTY DAMN SURE nearly every one of them has either taken Airborne or suggested it to someone who was complaining of the sniffles.
Sheep.
I hate people.
Not me! Or, at least, the most I've done is tried it a couple of times when somebody else said, "here, try this," and never noticing any subsequent health improvement.
Yeah, I meant, except you.
I haven't mentioned it in my LJ because I wouldn't be able to stop myself from going "DUR YOU MORONS."
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