Tricking Kids

Tricking Kids

By Michael Leshinski

The New York Times recently reported about a start-up drug company that doesn’t actually sell drugs. While taking care of children, a young mother was faced with a “sick” child who presented not so believable symptoms. As many parents do, she thought of giving a simple pain reliever not to actually treat any pain, but just to stop the complaining. Instead, she had an idea. What if I could treat the child without actually giving medicine? The rest is history. She has since created Efficacy Brands, a company that recently launched a placebo to “cure” the common child age hypochondriac. The chewable tablet is not so cleverly called Obecalp, placebo spelled backwards, and a liquid form is also currently in development. Sale of Obecalp began this week on the Efficacy Brands website. Will it work? I am sure there are many parents out there that think this is a great idea. Give the kid a pill and hopefully they will stop complaining. What if it doesn’t work because the child is actually sick? The child will have to suffer from the illness while believing a recovery is on the way. What if it is serious? Will the usage of Obecalp cause the child to miss out on a potential doctor visit?

Since it is technically not a drug, Obecalp does not undergo regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. Instead, it will be sold as a dietary supplement with no specific intended treatment. The inventor of the placebo pill acts simply as the supplier, and relies on the parents’ judgment for the administration. A bit of theatrics enter the picture here as well. The parents have to believe that the pill will work in order to give it. Unless you are accustomed to tricking your child on a regular basis, this may be difficult. Although placebo pills have had success in the past, specifically among attention deficit disorder, there is no evidence that it will work on other disease states. According to proponents of placebo administration, its usage could possibly act as a counter for the over-prescription of drugs.