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A placebo refers to a substance with no direct pharmacologic effect that is given to reinforce a patient’s expectation to get well. The New York Times reported that a chewable, cherry-flavored dextrose tablet will soon be marketed to parents as a placebo treatment for children. To capture the imagination of prospective parents, the name of the product — Obecalp — is the word placebo spelled backward. The developer of the placebo tablet, a parent of young children, promotes the product as a way to reduce potential harm from unnecessary medications. The Times quotes several physicians and bioethicists who point out that although placebos might be useful in some situations, “. . . giving children a ‘medicine’ for every ache and pain teaches th…