# Do these pills work?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 25, 2002, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974 "2002-03-25T07:05:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974/1 "2002-03-25T07:05:25Z")
Excuse me for posting an open ended question, but I was wondering about three pills that I’ve seen advertised quite a bit (I read _Maxim_, so sue me ;)).
1. Breast enlargement pills
2. Penis enlargement/lengthening pills
3. Fat burners/metabolism boosters
I know there are prescription diet pills, but I mean the mail-order/OTC versions of #3. As for 1 and 2, I believe I heard of a prescription version of 1, but this was all second hand.
So do/would these pills work? Even theoretically? If not, why aren’t they being sued for false advertising? Do they just have disclaimers that are _that_ good?
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### Author:  [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974/2 "2002-03-25T07:12:31Z")
Have you done searches for these products using search engines? You might get some news articles about them.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974/3 "2002-03-25T07:24:54Z")
Of course they don’t work. If they did, they’d be distributed through mainstream channels and no one would even have to ask the question you posed.
Occasionally purveyors of this sort of thing get challenged by the authorities and have to change their ways, but usually the ad copy is carefully constructed to not violate the law. It may be as simple as saying “helps to…” instead of “does…”. And while it’s a pretty sure bet that any testimonials are horsecrap, a testimonial isn’t the same as a claim in terms of legal liability.
When you see a product advertised with lots of glowing testimonials, it’s a virtual certainty it’s a scam, or only helps a very, very small percentage of folks. If they had real evidence, they’d use it.
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### Author:  [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974/4 "2002-03-25T08:28:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Gary T \*
> \*\* And while it’s a pretty sure bet that any testimonials are horsecrap, a testimonial isn’t the same as a claim in terms of legal liability.
>
> \*\*
But at least the [Bloussant testimonials](http://www.wellquestintl.com/bloussant_test.asp) come with pics that are easy on the eyes.😉
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### Author:  [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-these-pills-work/99974/5 "2002-03-25T10:40:05Z")
Eh, figured as much. OTOH, I thought that they might just be steroids of some sort. You know how when you take steroids and lift weights, your arms get bigger?
😃