Medical researcher Ted Kaptchuk pitted two types of fake
medicine -- sugar pills and pretend acupuncture -- against each other to
see which one worked better....
After 10 weeks, subjects taking sham pills said their pain decreased
an average of 1.50 points on the 10-point scale. After 8 weeks, those
receiving fake acupuncture reported a drop of 2.64 points. In other words,
not receiving acupuncture reduces pain more than not taking drugs.
-- Jessica Ruvinsky, "Placebo vs Placebo"
Discover Vol. 27 No. 04 (April 2006), reporting
on "Sham device v. inert pill: randomized controlled trial of
two placebo treatments," by Ted Kaptchuk,
British Medical Journal (February 1, 2006)