[Jonathan Adler, March 8, 2008 at 1:07pm] Trackbacks
Airborne Settlement:

The makers of Airborne vitamin supplement have agreed to a $23.3 million class action settlement for false advertising. Though it's now marketed as nothing more than an immune booster, the manufacturer used to advertise Airborne could prevent or cure the common cold, despite the lack of any real clinical evidence for such claims. Airborne's makers did not make any concession of wrongdoing, though they will pay for ads telling consumers how to seek refunds. They've already launched a website with settlement details here.

The settlement may not end Airborne's legal difficulties, however, as the Federal Trade Commission and several state attorneys general are continuing to investigate the company's claims. For the time being, however, marketing experts apparently believe Airborne sales will remain strong.

Orac at Respectful Insolence, who first wrote about Airborne's claims two years ago, has more here.

DavidBernstein (mail):
But it was invented by a former schoolteacher! And who knows more about the science of preventing and treating colds than a former schoolteacher?
3.8.2008 1:23pm
Free Trader:
What about the placebo effect. We know that the placebo effect is both (1) real and (2) beneficial. Maybe traditional remedies that don't actually do anything but make people think they do something are actually beneficial in some circumstances. (i.e. when they do not prevent a person from getting treatment that actually works).

Now, I am not saying that Airborne shouldn't pay for false advertising. I do not care to defend them in the slightest. But, I am wondering, is there a way to get the benefits of the placebo effect in a way that exceeds the costs?
3.8.2008 1:31pm
Fub:
DavidBernstein wrote at 3.8.2008 1:23pm:
And who knows more about the science of preventing and treating colds than a former schoolteacher?
A former cow college chemical engineering graduate?
3.8.2008 2:29pm
WHOI Jacket:
Hey, if Dr. Pauling takes massive doses of Vitamin C, it's good for me.
3.8.2008 2:30pm
WHOI Jacket:
Wow, hivemind anyone?
3.8.2008 2:30pm
A. Zarkov (mail):
So how much of the $23.3 million did the lawyers get? There was a class action suit against Maytag, the manufacturers of the Neptune washing machine. I got a notice of my share and it was a pittance. The lawyers got over $8 million. The award to the class was capped at $2 million. The lawyers got more than 80% of the award?
3.8.2008 2:32pm
Fub:
WHOI Jacket wrote at 3.8.2008 2:30pm:
Hey, if Dr. Pauling takes massive doses of Vitamin C, it's good for me.
If he is taking those doses these days, you're darn tootin' it's good enough for me.
3.8.2008 2:43pm
therut:
Where can I get my 50 cent coupon??
3.8.2008 4:39pm
neurodoc:
But, I am wondering, is there a way to get the benefits of the placebo effect in a way that exceeds the costs?
I'm not sure what "costs" you have in mind, but it has been found that black pills and red pills are more effective aspain-relieving placebos than white ones, and the placebo effect is stronger when the subject believes they are getting a more expensive medication. So, yes, there might be a benefit to a higher cost than a lower one, but should the excess profit go to scamsters, like Airborne?

Also, most often when we are talking about placebo effects, we are referring to symptomatic relief, especially pain. A placebo will not serve in lieu of antiepileptic drugs to prevent seizures, nor in lieu of antiarhythmics to keep a heart beating regularly, nor in lieu of an antibiotic to cure pneumococcal pneumonia, etc. So, I don't know about Airborne or any other "placebo" for the prevention of common colds. I am very skeptical.
3.8.2008 5:42pm
byomtov (mail):
So, yes, there might be a benefit to a higher cost than a lower one, but should the excess profit go to scamsters, like Airborne?

Doesn't a placebo seller have to be a scamster? If you know it's a placebo, does it still work?
3.8.2008 6:21pm
Jim C B (mail) (www):
I have been using Airborne for four years. There was a period in early 2005 when they couldn't produce enough for demand. I got bronchitis, which lasted for three months. Since I got back on it, twice a day, I have not had a serious illness from infectious disease. All along, I have seen Airborne as a supplement that boosts the immune system and nothing more, but I find it helpful and will continue taking it, unless the lawyers succeed in killing the company. At that point, I will be very angry at some lawyers and will consider legal action.
3.8.2008 7:17pm
Fub:
Jim C B wrote at 3.8.2008 7:17pm:
All along, I have seen Airborne as a supplement that boosts the immune system and nothing more, but I find it helpful and will continue taking it, unless the lawyers succeed in killing the company. At that point, I will be very angry at some lawyers and will consider legal action.
Better to save your shekels by just buying the ingredients and making your own mixture. All the ingredients are on the label and are noted in one of the links above. They are considerably cheaper bought even in retail at your favorite vitamin store and mixed at your kitchen counter.
3.8.2008 7:43pm
Smokey:
Airborne is a complete scam!

I prefer the "apply directly to forehead" headache medicine, and the log that takes creosote out of my chimney.
3.8.2008 7:50pm
Tony Tutins (mail):
First Enzyte and now Airborne. Are there no spurious herbal remedies I can believe in?
3.9.2008 12:35am
neurodoc:
At that point, I will be very angry at some lawyers and will consider legal action.
What sort of "legal action" would you consider and against whom?
3.9.2008 4:12am
Brad Catlin:
I didn't know about the lawsuit, but am not surprised at the result. I started hearing about Airborne's lack of efficacy and possible dangers over a year ago (like encouraging excessive intake of Vitamin A, which can be unsafe in large doses). Those people who swear by Airborne should read this:

Scientific American on Airborne
3.9.2008 12:39pm
Fub:
neurodoc wrote at 3.9.2008 3:12am:
What sort of "legal action" would you consider and against whom?
Sue da Fed.

Thank you, thank you.

I'll be here all week.
3.9.2008 1:20pm
Maniakes:
I have half a mind to start marketing an expensive black-and-red pill called "Placebex" as being clinically proven to be as effective as [list of herbal remedies no more effective than placebos].
3.9.2008 4:49pm
Minnesota Reader:
Tony:

I'm sure that this supplement must work. They say so right on TV.
3.10.2008 1:51am
Randy R. (mail):
This is pretty funny. Post a blog about SSM, and you get a heated debate about whether it's good for society or not. Post a blog about SSD, and no one cares.

Does that mean that social conservatives are happy that gays are divorcing?
3.10.2008 3:57pm
Randy R. (mail):
oops. Wrong thread.....
3.10.2008 3:58pm