Target-specific painkiller labelling. Is it a clever use of placebo psychology or simply profiteering?

[Chris_Peters]

Target specific pain pills turn out to be the same as standard version. And twice the price! Australian court orders manufacturer to remove product from stores. But is this a clever use of placebo psychology or simply a case of a company trying to maximise profits?

[teessidesitp]

Probably a bit of both but profit is, as usual, the main driver. I believe there is a case for fraud here but I wonder if there is any authority with the guts to go after them.

[Gez_Blair]

I would say a bit of both - I'm sure that they have teams of psychologists that research how to persuade otherwise rational people to pay up to ten times more for a product they could otherwise get for 30p. Even I get sucked into the TV commercials thinking, 'well it looks impressive - blue arrows moving through the airways of the head'.

The Guardian's Suzanne Moore had a pithy comment - the only thing they target is the wallet.

My concern is that somebody could not realise that "targeted ibuprofen" is just the same as bog-standard ibuprofen and end up taking an overdose, by combining the two products.

[johnsmith]

This does need further investigation. The packets contents may be the same, however the powder construction may be different.

Finer powder means faster absorption.

Powder coating construction may be different. This will change the rate at which the drug is absorbed.

I do not know at this point. Have to wait for the company to make an explanation if they ever do.

A number of years ago a heart drug suddenly started to kill people at what was considered to be safe dosages. It was found that the drug contents had not changed. The manufacturing process had. The new process produced a finer powder. The finer powder was absorbed more quickly resulting in fatal over dosages.