Placebo effect. Ethics of consent versus effect?

Question

Often the effects of psychiatric drugs are determined by comparisons with a placebo group. You may for example have a result that there were 40% responders to placebo and 50% responders to the drug.
You do seem to have a moral and ethical dilema here. For if you informed each user of a drug about the placebo effect , the percent responders may decrease.
Even though the placebo effect is so large compared to the combined effect you would never hear a doctor talk about this. On the other hand, you would hear a doctor talk about the active substance in the drug and neurotransmitters.
The person is not correctly informed about the treatment he or she is recieving. And on the other hand, this information itself may decrease the benefit to the patient.

What is your opinion?
Is the health of the patient more important than informed information?

firstQ: yes: BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY (2 0 0 5), 18 6 , 2 2 2 ^ 2 2 6
Escitalopramin the treatment of social
anxiety disorder
Randomised, placebo-controlled, flexible-dosage study
SIEGFRIED KASPER, DAN J. STEIN, HENRIK LOFT and RICO NIL
(Pacebo =39%). What about if it was "only" 25%?

-Why are patients generally not informed about the placebo effect?

-Why are patients generally not informed about the placebo effect?

Answer 1

i think we should give placebos out most of the time,,,,,
a good portion of people would get well....

i say keep it quiet..... most meds are harmful.... we are just to un-evolved to realize the damage we do to ourselves.... bloodletting was popular a hundred years ago...... i think modern medicine will be viewed the same way.... and nature and our bodies natural healing methods will be much greater respected

Answer 2

In the case of medical trials all participants are informed many times of any potential effects and even informed of non predicted effects. If you choose to partake in these trials it is by your own choice and no one is forcing you.

If the placebo effect is that large it must be reported to the FDA hen seeking approval for the drug. If they are told they received a placebo it would skew the results. I cannot site one instance of a drug being approved with the percentages you quote. Can you?

And another thing. Patients are always informed before they receive any treatment and doubly informed before they receive experimental treatment. They are well informed.