sugar pill

It worked just as effectively when they got a sugar pill — but they believed it was magic mushrooms.

The trial shows that, over an 18-month period, patients receiving the drug declined at a slower rate than those receiving a placebo, which, in this case, was a dummy infusion rather than a sugar pill.

Asthmatic kids could now breathe easier, the text assured, and side effects were “usually mild” and “similar to a sugar pill.”

Asthmatic kids could now breathe easier, the text assured, and side effects were “usually mild” and “similar to a sugar pill.”

Tell a patient you are giving them a drug and they might start to feel better, even if they’ve only taken a sugar pill; tell them the drug has side effects, and they may experience those, too.