As much as it feels like they should unethical, I believe placebo controlled trials are necessary, especially in the case of new drugs. They are needed to tell if the new drug is actually effective when compared to something the investigators know has no real effect. The ethical question of course is it ethical to give someone a drug you know will not actually help them. In the long run I think it is. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made. In my head it comes down to which is worse, not fully treating someone who knew the risks when they started the trial, or releasing a drug the potentially will not be as effective as the researchers believe. To me it is much worse to release that drug without knowing its true efficacy than it is to use a placebo in testing. Now this does rely on those conducting the test to make sure that those who enroll in the clinical test are aware that they may be given a placebo. It is also important that this test be a double blind study so neither the testers or the patients know if they were given the placebo or the active treatment. This prevents any bias from coming into play.

So I ask my classmates which is more ethical: giving someone a placebo or releasing a drug that does not have a comparison to a true control?