# Confidence in a Bottle?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728 "2007-12-20T17:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728/21 "2007-12-21T00:03:38Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] How long until someone gets convinced that _[Papaver somniferum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_poppy)_ is an herb and should be sold without FDA approval? [/QUOTE] [Psst. Over here.](http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/21673/) ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728/22 "2007-12-21T07:26:39Z")
Confidence has been sold in bottles for centuries. I recommend the bottle with a label that reads “Scotch Whiskey.” ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728/23 "2007-12-21T10:58:54Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] How long until someone gets convinced that _[Papaver somniferum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_poppy)_ is an herb and should be sold without FDA approval? [/QUOTE] Well, technically you can buy all the poppy seeds you want. You’ll just get in trouble if you grow them. Or sell them as a “natural herbal remedy” via late-night infomercials. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728/24 "2007-12-21T15:56:02Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] It’s snake-oil. Period. [/QUOTE] What kind of snake? I mean, garter snakes are small and puny, but if it’s anaconda, then it might be worth something. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728/25 "2007-12-21T16:11:30Z")
When I saw the title I thought this was going to be about [Dutch courage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_courage). (Sorry, **Maastricht**.) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728/26 "2007-12-21T17:56:32Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] It’s snake-oil. Period. [/QUOTE] That’s understandable. How can you be confident if you have a squeaky snake? 😛 Food supplements are very lightly regulated. The ads are carefully written. As long as they dance around making any specific claims for the product’s effect, it’s still a supplement, for which the rules are lax. If there was a definitive claim of reducing anxiety, it would slip into the drug category, and the government would demand testing to back up the claim. Unless an herbal supplement is shown to be harmful, it’s hands off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confidence-in-a-bottle/430728.md?page=1)